Ukraine is keeping its ground against a barrage of Russian attacks in the Donetsk region, according to one of Kyiv’s officials.
The head of Ukraine’s ground forces, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, said his country’s soldiers are “holding their defences firm” on the eastern frontline.
Russia, he explained, is constantly attacking the direction of Kupiansk, located in the Kharkiv region north of Donetsk, and Lyman, near the borders with the Kharkiv and Luhansk regions.
The experienced Colonel General said the main task for Ukrainian troops at the moment was to knock out enemy artillery where possible.
While providing an update on the Russian attacks, he also spoke about the Ukrainian counter-offensive, which he claimed had made small advances in the direction of Bakhmut.
In recent days, Western officials have been speaking about a major push by Ukrainian soldiers as part of counter-offensive manoeuvres.
On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky published a video showing his country’s troops saying they had taken the village of Staromaiorske in Donetsk and a group of soldiers holding up a Ukrainian flag.
Located 150km east of Zaporizhzhia, the soldiers liberated the area through the use of artillery fire and airstrikes.
While Ukrainian officials have been largely tight-lipped on their counter-offensive, Russian President Vladimir Putin seemingly confirmed Western’s impressions Kyiv has stepped up its attacks.
Speaking to reporters in St Petersburg, Putin said the Ukrainian offensive has “significantly” intensified.
The Russian leader played down its effectiveness, saying: “All counter-offensive attempts were stopped, and the enemy was pushed back with high casualties.”
But Putin’s words were seemingly contradicted by Alexander Khodakovsky, leader of the pro-Russian Vostok Battalion militia, who said Ukraine had methodically shelled the village and made gains while also holding their positions, adding the “enemy” at is at times “outplaying us”.
Similarly, military blogger Rybar depicted the strength of the Ukrainian attack against Russians in the sieged village, as he wrote: “There was almost nothing left of the village itself, the settlement was razed to the ground and the withdrawal was due to the absence of any defensive fortifications.”
While Staromaiorske is a small village home to some 900 people before the beginning of the war, it is of huge strategic importance as it gives Ukraine access to the TO518 farm road leading to the Russian-held port city of Mariupol.
Ukraine and its allies suggest recent advances are to lead to further and even more important gains.
Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said: “Our defenders are full of strength to move forward.”
