JAKARTA - Ukrainian troops are having difficulty dealing with Russian attacks on the eastern front, but are making progress near the town of Bakhmut and the south, the deputy defense minister said on Sunday.
Russian reports on the front say Moscow forces have repulsed Ukrainian attacks near villages around Bakhmut and in areas further south, especially in the strategic hilltop town of Vuhlear.
They also reported success in holding off Ukrainian troops in the northeast, although reports from the battlefield could not be verified.
It is known that Russia launched an overnight drone strike on Kyiv and the surrounding region on Sunday after a 12-day lull, with its air defense systems destroying all approaching weapons.
The Ukrainian military is carrying out a counteroffensive to retake areas in the east and south captured in the 16-month-long Russian invasion. Ukraine's initial advance has been focused on securing village clusters in the south.
Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar wrote on Telegram that "things are heating up everywhere" in the east, with Russian troops advancing near the besieged towns of Avdiivka and Maryinka in the Donetsk region.
"In addition, the enemy has started an offensive in the Svatove area," he said, referring to areas of northeastern Ukraine where Russian forces have been active.
"Heavy fighting is going on... The situation is quite complicated," he continued.
Maliar reported "partial success" south of Bakhmut, which was captured in late May by Russian troops after months of heavy fighting.
Meanwhile on the southern front, where Ukrainian forces have recaptured several villages, Maliar said there had been "gradual progress" in two areas.
"Our troops faced fierce resistance from the enemy, mine time bombs and the displacement of enemy reserves, but tirelessly created the conditions for the fastest possible advance," he wrote.
Meanwhile, General Oleksander Tarnavskiy, who is in charge of the southern front, said Ukrainian troops were "systematically destroying the enemy" and reported the deaths of several hundred Russian troops in the past 24 hours.
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Separately, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky paid tribute to soldiers in the Odesa port and vowed: "By no means will the enemy dictate terms on the Black Sea!"
President Zelensky and the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, General Valery Zaluzhniy, have reported steady, albeit slow, progress. The president acknowledged that progress had been limited, but said the effort was "not a Hollywood movie" and was an instant success.
Ukraine has also had to endure continued Russian airstrikes on Ukrainian cities, even though the Kremlin denies it has struck civilian targets.
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