Ukraine claims limited gains after ‘difficult’ combat

AFP | Kyiv       

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Ukraine yesterday said it was making gains in the south and east over the past week in difficult fighting to dislodge Moscow’s heavily entrenched forces.

The news on Kyiv’s fightback came as Russia’s security service (FSB) claimed it had foiled an assassination attempt on the head of Crimea, a southern peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.

Ukraine’s troops, which have faced intense resistance in their counter offensive launched last month, have urged Western allies to send more military support.

“Last week was difficult on the front line. But we are making progress,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. “We are moving forward, step by step!” Deputy Defence Minister Ganna Malyar noted that Ukrainian forces over the past week recaptured nine square kilometres (four square miles) in the east and 28 square kilometres in the south.

Ukraine’s forces have taken back over 158 square kilometres in the south since the start of the counteroffensive, Malyar said. Russian forces are also on the offensive, and in recent days launched new assaults towards Svatove, in the eastern Lugansk region.