CNN –
Russian and Ukrainian forces are reporting intense fighting along the borders of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk and southern Zaporizhia regions, while the Kiev military is attempting to break through the front lines and retake areas in an ongoing counteroffensive.
The new reports came as Russian missiles struck the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih early Tuesday, killing at least 11 people and wounding 28, according to Oleksandr Vilkul, head of the city’s military administration.
Air defense forces shot down three cruise missiles over the city, but there were also “impacts” that hit civilian infrastructure, authorities said, adding that a five-story apartment building was on fire.
According to city officials, rescue workers are still trying to reach a person trapped under the rubble of a residential building hit by a rocket. A day of mourning for the victims was declared on Wednesday.
The latest battle reports came from Moscow-backed officials and military bloggers, who detailed clashes south of the town of Velyka Novosilka on either side of the Mokri Yaly River, where Ukrainian forces have been making advances in recent days.
According to geolocated video, Ukraine captured several small villages along the river on Saturday. And on Sunday, Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said Kiev’s advances in the region would be between 5 and 10 kilometers (3 to 6 miles).
Late Monday, a senior Russian-appointed official, Vladimir Rogov, spoke of fierce fighting in an area known as the Vremivka Ridge and claimed that higher ground remained under Russian control.
Rogov, a member of the Russian-installed Zaporizhia government, told Telegram that Russian attack helicopters were deployed and that “mutual shelling and heavy fighting of extremely high intensity are ongoing” near the village of Urozhaine.
Rogov acknowledged that Ukrainian forces “held their positions on the northern and eastern outskirts of the village.”
According to the unofficial Russian Telegram channel Operatsiya Z, Russian forces are trying to repel Ukraine’s breakthrough with counterattacks.
The channel said on Monday that Ukrainian forces were trying to get higher to “create conditions for an advance” and estimated that their goal was to push towards the Russian-held center of Staromlynivka.
Anatoly Stepanov/AFP/Getty Images
Ukrainian troops ride on an armored personnel carrier in the Zaporizhia region on June 11.
Elsewhere, Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of Ukraine’s land forces, said Tuesday that Ukrainian troops “continued the defensive operation towards Bakhmut.”
“Our soldiers are advancing, the enemy is losing ground on the flanks,” Syrskyj said.
Ukrainian officials also report advances towards the port city of Berdyansk over the past day.
“The area brought under control was three square kilometers,” spokesman for the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Andriy Kovalov said on Tuesday.
In the Donetsk village of Makarivka, Ukrainian forces “were already driven off by the swift and effective counterattack of the 127th Division,” said Rogov, the Moscow-backed official. CNN cannot independently verify battlefield reports, and other reports paint a bleaker picture for Russian forces around Makarivka.
Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Maliar said Monday Makarivka was one of seven villages recaptured by Ukrainian forces in the past week.
Russian military bloggers also reported intense fighting in the area. A Telegram channel called Our Donetsk reported that the Ukrainians “had managed to penetrate deeper into the forested areas and threatened further advance to encircle nearby Russian units.”
There is no way to verify these unofficial reports, but they are consistent with a pattern in the fighting that has been emerging over the past week.
Our Donetsk conceded that for the second time Russian troops were forced to leave Neskuchne – south of Velyka Novosilka – and “retreat to positions where they could not be encircled”.
It was said that the Ukrainians had “reinforced forces” in the area and fierce fighting continued.
Meanwhile, one of Russia’s best-known bloggers, Voenkor Kotenok, said late Monday that a senior Russian officer was killed when troops from Russia’s Fifth Army were forced to leave Makarivka.
Voenkor, who has 423,000 subscribers, said in a Telegram post that “the chief of staff of the 35th Combined Arms Army, Major General Sergei Goryachev, was killed as a result of an enemy missile attack.”
There is no independent confirmation of the death of Goryachev, a highly experienced commander, and no news from the Russian Defense Ministry.
Voenkor said: “According to representatives of the United Group of Forces (S) command, the Army lost one of the brightest and most effective military leaders today.”
Another well-known Russian military blogger, WarGonzo, admitted on Monday that previous “victorious statements” on the situation in Makarivka were “premature.”
“The settlement is still a place of fierce fighting… The enemy brings in infantry in small groups with light equipment, which makes it difficult to defeat them quickly,” the blogger said on Telegram.
“Despite all expectations, we still haven’t managed to retake the village by the end of the day. We hope that tomorrow there will be success in this regard.”
In contrast, Russian military bloggers claim that Ukrainian efforts to advance south of Orichiv, in another part of the Southern Front, have met with resistance. Several said the Ukrainians had lost a significant number of demining tanks in an area known to have been heavily devastated by the Russians, fortified with minefields and anti-tank obstacles.
Geolocated video appears to show Ukrainian tank losses in the area.
“The enemy is doing everything to hold the positions they have captured,” Maliar said on Tuesday.
“It actively uses attack and army aircraft and conducts heavy artillery fire. During the offensive, our troops are faced with constant minefields and anti-tank ditches. All this is accompanied by constant counterattacks by enemy units on armored vehicles and the massive use of ATGMs and kamikaze drones,” she said.
In his nightly address on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that fighting in the Donetsk-Zaporizhia border region was fierce, but Ukrainian troops were in the process of retaking territory.
“The fighting is fierce, but we are making progress and that is very important. “Enemy casualties are exactly what we need,” said Zelenskyy.
“Though the weather is unfavorable these days – the rain makes our task more difficult – the strength of our warriors still brings success.”
Zelensky also said that “the most important and hottest” operational areas are in the Tavria and Khortytsia directions.
The commander of the Ukrainian ground forces and the general of the operational-strategic group Tavria reported “on the successes we have achieved, on the front areas where we need reinforcements and on the measures we can take to secure further Russian positions break through,” Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy’s chief diplomatic adviser Igor Zhovkva told CNN on Monday that “the ultimate goal of the counteroffensive is to win back all territories, including Crimea.”
Schowkwa gave no information on the ongoing counter-offensive measures.
He also tried to dampen any expectations that the campaign would yield quick results, saying it could take many months for Ukraine to reach its goals.