Ukraine conducting ‘offensive actions’ on front line, says Kyiv, noting some ‘success’
- ‘Defensive operation includes counteroffensive actions. Therefore in some sectors we are conducting offensive actions’; Bakhmut is still ‘epicentre of hostilities’
- Announcement from Kyiv came after Russia said it had repelled ‘large-scale offensive’ by Ukrainian forces in Moscow-occupied Donetsk region
Kyiv said on Monday it was conducting “offensive actions” on the front line and noted some progress in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.
The announcement from the defence ministry came after Russia said it had repelled “a large-scale offensive” by Ukrainian forces in the Moscow-occupied Donetsk region.
“The defensive operation includes counteroffensive actions. Therefore, in some sectors, we are conducting offensive actions,” Deputy Defence Minister Ganna Malyar said.
“The Bakhmut sector remains the epicentre of the hostilities,” she said, adding that Kyiv’s troops were occupying the “dominant heights” and reported some “success”.
“In the south the enemy is on the defensive,” she added.
The Russian mercenary group Wagner, which has led the assault for Bakhmut, said in May it seized the now ravaged city after the longest and bloodiest fight of the offensive.
Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Monday that Ukraine’s troops had made gains near Bakhmut.
Russian troops, he said, were “slowly” leaving parts of the village of Berkhivka near Bakhmut.
Malyar also said Russia was “actively spreading information about a counteroffensive” to “divert attention from defeats in the Bakhmut sector”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly in Kyiv on Monday and discussed preparations for a Nato summit and Ukraine’s formula for ending Russia’s invasion.
“We are very grateful for the support that the UK has provided and continues to provide to Ukraine,” Zelensky said on Telegram under a video showing the men meeting.
Zelensky likens Bakhmut’s devastation to Hiroshima after World War II
The war, now in its 16th month, is entering a potentially decisive phase as Ukraine masses forces for its push to reclaim Russian-occupied regions of the country’s south and east, backed by billions of dollars in weapons supplied by Kyiv’s many allies.
Meanwhile, the Russian fleet has not informed Nato about its manoeuvre with 40 ships and 25 combat aircraft in the Baltic Sea that kicked off on Monday.
“We have not been informed about the manoeuvre from the Russian side,” the commander of the naval forces of the Nato rapid reaction force, Flotilla Admiral Thorsten Marx, said on the frigate Mecklenburg-Vorpommern on Monday.
He stressed, however, that Nato was not surprised by this. “Of course, we have a very clear idea from which actions manoeuvre activities might be derived.” Observations over the past weeks and months had indicated that the manoeuvre was taking place, he said.
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The Russian military has begun a naval exercise in the Baltic Sea, involving 40 vessels, 25 fighter jets and over 3,500 soldiers, the press service of the Russian Baltic Fleet said on Monday.
“The manoeuvre will include training of maritime communications, defence tasks and fleet bases,” a press release said. The naval exercise is expected to last until June 15.
Additional reporting by Reuters, dpa