Ukraine’s army has reported strong gains against Russian forces near Bakhmut and across the entire eastern front – just hours after Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the counteroffensive was underway.
Fierce fighting broke out along the eastern frontline, with casualties mounting on both sides.
President Zelensky said a rebuilding programme for destroyed cities and flooded plains can only be envisaged when the war is over, but he delivered a sobering message to Russian despot Vladimir Putin.
He finally confirmed: “The counteroffensive and defensive actions are taking place.”
Mr Zelensky said he would not discuss in detail about what stage the fightback was at.
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But military strategists say that Ukrainian troops have advanced in the east near Bakhmut and in the south near Zaporizhzhia.
They are also actively engaged in long-range strikes on Russian targets.
Ukraine’s commanders were in a positive mood, Mr Zelensky continued, adding: “Tell that to Putin.”
His counterattacking troops were said to have advanced nearly a mile on Sunday at a number of sections of the frontline near Bakhmut.
It was the latest in a series of similar gains reported last week by Kyiv near the city. Russia claimed it had fully captured the territory last month after the longest battle since it began its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Ukraine’s eastern military command said: “We’re trying to conduct strikes on the enemy, we’re counterattacking.
“We’ve managed to advance up to 1,400 metres on various sections of the front.” Spokesman Serhiy Cherevaty said in televised comments that Kremlin forces were trying to hit back but not succeeded.
He added that Ukrainian troops had inflicted heavy Russian casualties and destroyed military hardware.
Mr Zelensky’s army has also carried out long-range strikes on Russian targets within Ukraine. And three cities and a village were also hit by drones in border regions.
Moscow and Kyiv both reported heavy fighting in numerous areas, with bloggers describing the first sightings of Germany-gifted Leopard 2 battle tanks – signalling the counterattack was underway.
Russia claimed Ukrainian forces were launching assaults at night as equipment provided by the West gives Ukrainian forces “excellent” night vision optics.
But Moscow, which has built extensive fortifications in the invaded nation’s occupied east and south, claimed the initial big push by Kyiv had failed to break through Russian lines. It was not a view shared by the UK’s Ministry of Defence.
The MoD said Ukrainian forces had penetrated the first line of Russian defences in some areas but progress was slower in others.
Putin said at the weekend that Ukraine had begun its counteroffensive but had failed to achieve their objectives despite intense fighting.
He told Russian reporters in Sochi: “We can state for sure this offensive has begun. [But] Ukrainian troops did not achieve their goals.”
Kyiv’s forces are thought to be trying to push south to split Moscow’s forces in two, breaking through the occupied territory which connects Russia to Crimea.
But hope of advances in the region could be hindered by huge flooding in the south after the Khakovka Dam was destroyed by Russia last week.
Flooding covers around 230 square miles either side of the Dnipro River.
