The Ukrainian military says Russian forces are maintaining their offensive in the east of the country, but Ukraine has been able to repel their advance.
“The enemy used cannons and rockets in the settlement areas of Yakovlivka, Travneve, Kodema, Pokrovske, Rozdolivka, Kurdiumivka, Zaitseve, Bakhmut and Soledar. There were airstrikes near Yakovlivka, Soledar and Kodema” , the Army General Staff said in an early morning update Thursday.
He said Russian forces “tried to improve the tactical position” in a number of directions, but “did not succeed…and withdrew.”
Russia continues to conduct “offensive operations in the direction of Novoluhanske – Kodema, hostilities continue,” the General Staff added.
Eastern front line: Ukrainian authorities reported intense shelling over most of the eastern battlefield.
Near Kharkiv, Russian forces attempted to push towards Bairak-Husarivka, the Ukrainian military said.
Russian forces largely abandoned Kharkiv as a target, as they focused on the Donbas regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, he added.
Battles in the South: Meanwhile, on Ukraine’s southern flank, Russian forces relied primarily on artillery, shelling more than 25 settlements in and around Mykolaiv. The city has faced heavy shelling throughout the week, with a Ukrainian grain tycoon and his wife killed in an attack last Saturday.
Residents told CNN it was the heaviest bombardment of the city since the start of the war.
Ukraine has attempted to mount a counteroffensive in this area, and Ukrainian officials have said Moscow is using artillery to defend and hold territory it controls.
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