US says Ukraine making 'notable progress' in counteroffensive

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - Ukraine has made "notable progress" over the past three days as it seeks to drive Russia out of occupied territories, the White House said Friday.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Kyiv's forces have made progress in their counteroffensive in southern Ukraine near Zaporizhzhia, "and they have achieved some success against that second line of Russian defenses."

"Where they go from here and how they exploit that success. I'll leave it to them to discuss, but we have seen some notable progress," Kirby said.

"It is also not, you know, beyond the realm of the possible here that the Russians will react to this progress, and so we've got to make sure that we're watching that too, and that we're making sure that Ukraine has everything they need to not only keep the progress going but to be able to react positively and effectively against any Russian counter efforts," he added.

Ukraine said Monday that its forces have re-taken control of Robotyne in Zaporizhzhia, one of four Ukrainian regions annexed by Russia. The capture of Robotyne comes as Ukrainian troops push through defensive lines erected by Russia in a bid to secure its hold on occupied territories.

Ukraine is now seeking to advance on the neighboring village of Verbove in an effort to break up Russia's land bridge to the Crimean Peninsula, a Ukrainian territory annexed by Russia in 2014.