Ukraine says Russia made ‘minor gains’ in parts of front line

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - The commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces said Thursday that Russia has made “minor gains” in some parts of the front line in the country's east.

“Combat operations of varying intensity continue along all directions of the enemy's offensive. In some places, at the cost of heavy losses, the enemy has made minor gains,” Oleksandr Syrskyi said in a statement on Facebook.

Noting that he has been working in the country’s eastern front for the past three days, Syrskyi said that Russian forces continue to concentrate their efforts in the direction of the city of Pokrovsk, a key front located in the country’s eastern Donetsk region.

He said “fierce fighting” continues in the direction of the city of Kupiansk, located about 100 kilometers (62 miles) east of the city of Kharkiv, and that the situation in the direction of Siversk city in Donetsk is “difficult.”

He further said that “fierce battles” are also taking place near the city of Chasiv Yar, located about 12 kilometers (7.4 miles) west of the city of Bakhmut, which Moscow claimed to have captured in May 2023.

Russian forces have suffered losses near the village of Hlyboke and the town of Vovchansk in the northeastern Kharkiv region, Syrskyi said, adding that while “tactical positions” can change several times during the day, there have been “no significant changes” as of yet.

Russian forces have been attempting to breach Ukraine’s defenses in the Kharkiv region since early May, opening a new front in the over two-year-long conflict that was hitherto concentrated in the country’s east and south.

Clashes in the region have intensified since then, particularly near the city of Vovchansk, located about 74 kilometers (45 miles) from Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, which has also been targeted by Russian airstrikes.

Russia claims to have seized control of multiple border settlements since the start of its offensive on the Kharkiv front, as well as other fronts, including Donetsk and Luhansk.