Ukraine claims gains on southern front and near Bakhmut

Ukraine said on Monday it had made gains against Russian forces in the south and clawed back territory near Bakhmut in the east, as it battles to break through Russian defences. Kyiv launched a counter-offensive against Moscow’s forces in June after stockpiling Western weapons and building up assault battalions, but has struggled to make headway against heavily fortified Russian positions. “The enemy is on the defensive in the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson sectors,” Deputy Defence Minister Ganna Malyar said, referring to two southern regions that Moscow claimed to annex last year. She said Ukraine’s forces had made success near the towns of Novodanylivka and Novoprokopivka in the south, and had also captured three square kilometres (around one square mile) near Bakhmut. “The enemy in the south is suffering significant losses in personnel, weapons and equipment,” she said. Ukraine has hit back at criticism of the apparent slow pace of its counter-offensive, acknowledging tough battles against Russian defensive lines of trenches and minefields that are kilometres deep. On Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced he was replacing Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov and called for “new approaches”, a year and a half into Russia’s invasion.