The Ukrainian military spoke of a planned course of its own counteroffensive – but at the same time recognized a “difficult situation” at the front. In the south of the country, the Russian occupiers met “bitter resistance”, wrote Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Saluschnyj in Telegram today. The Ukrainian advance was hampered by fortifications, dense minefields and a “large number of reserves”.
“The operation will continue according to plan,” Zalushnyj assured. In a video, he was also shown together with Chief of Staff Serhiy Schaptala at a command center near the front. In doing so, Zalushnyj countered rumors in Russian state media that had claimed for some time that he was seriously injured in a rocket attack in May.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maljar reported a “difficult situation” and heavy fighting in eastern Ukraine. The Russian military is trying to regain the initiative in Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region and in Lyman in the adjacent Luhansk region, she said.