“Enemy doesn’t just give up”
Kiev reports land gains despite “violent resistance”
06/15/2023, 3:08 p.m
Last week Ukraine began its long-awaited counter-offensive. Seven places and over 100 square kilometers are said to have been recaptured so far. At the same time, however, Kiev emphasizes the fierce resistance of the Russian troops.
According to their own statements, the Ukrainian troops have so far liberated seven towns from Russian occupation as part of their counter-offensive. In the Zaporizhia region, the Russians have been pushed back by three to seven kilometers in two sections since last week, said General Staff representative Oleksiy Hromov in Kiev. “Control over 100 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory has been restored.” In eastern Donetsk Oblast, Ukrainian units would attack further south and north of the Russian-held town of Bakhmut.
At the same time, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maljar emphasized that the enemy was putting up “violent resistance”. Dense minefields, heavy artillery fire and so-called kamikaze drones are hampering the Ukrainian advances. “The enemy doesn’t just give up their positions,” she said. In the south of the country there is a “gradual but steady advance of the armed forces”.
Around the city of Bakhmut, which has been hit by the heaviest fighting, Russia is currently building “additional reserves” to prevent the advance of Ukrainian troops, Maljar said. Nevertheless, in the past ten days, the Ukrainian army has advanced “more than three kilometers” in the Bakhmut area in eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine has been repelling a Russian invasion for a good 16 months. Last week Kiev launched a long-awaited counter-offensive. The goal is the liberation of all Ukrainian territories currently occupied by Russian troops. This also includes the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014.