Successfully Withstands Tanks To Rockets Of Russian Troops, President Zelensky's Adviser: Ukraine Might Surround Them

An illustration of a Russian Kamov Ka-52 Alligator helicopter shot down over Ukraine. (Wikimedia/Commons ако)

JAKARTA - Ukraine reported intense Russian shelling on the frontlines on Tuesday, as both sides blamed each other for the weekend attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear complex that sparked international concern about a potential atomic disaster.

Heavy fighting was reported in frontline towns near the eastern city of Donetsk, where Ukrainian officials say Russian forces launched a wave of attacks as they tried to seize control of the Donbas industrial region.

"The situation in the region is tense, shelling continues on all fronts. The enemy also frequently uses air strikes", Donetsk regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko told Ukrainian television.

"The enemy did not succeed. The Donetsk region defended", he continued.

Around Kharkiv in the northeast, Ukrainian troops captured the city of Dovhenke from Russian invaders and advanced towards Izium, adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Oleksiy Arestovych in a video posted on YouTube.

The daily battlefield report from the general staff of the Ukrainian military said cities in the north, east, and southeast of Kharkiv had been attacked by tanks, artillery, and rockets.

"The situation is very interesting. Ukrainian troops are moving very successfully. Russian efforts to regain lost territory are not successful. Ukraine will probably surround them", Arestovych said.

In the southeast, the key Antonovskyi bridge over the Dnipro river in the Kherson region was again targeted by Ukrainian forces trying to disrupt Russian supply lines.

Separately, Yuri Sobolevsky, deputy head of the Kherson regional council that was ousted by the Russian occupation forces, said on Telegram that the bridge had been badly damaged after "last night's action". Reuters was unable to verify the report.

US Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl on Monday said Russia has suffered between 70,000 and 80,000 casualties, either killed or injured, since its invasion of Ukraine began on February 24. Russia called the war a 'special military operation'.