Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday that Ukrainian forces fended off a “fierce offensive” by Russian troops in the Donetsk region, Reuters reports.
Without mentioning where the confrontation took place, Zelenskiy said the Russian troops were repelled by a military unit from Chop, a city in western Ukraine. Located in the east, Donetsk is one of four Ukrainian regions Russia proclaimed as its own territory last month.
“Today they stopped the fierce offensive actions of the enemy,” Zelenskiy said during his nightly address. “The Russian attack was repelled.”
Zelenskiy added Ukraine’s “exchange fund” was replenished, referring to the capture of Russian soldiers.
The United Nations, Turkey and Ukraine agreed on an October 31 movement plan for 14 vessels that are in Turkish waters, Reuters reports.
The Sunday announcement comes after Russia withdrew from the UN-brokered Black Sea grain initiative, an agreement that established a safe corridor for food exports from Ukrainian ports.
The Istanbul-based Joint Coordination Centre – which includes representatives from Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the UN – said in a statement that the three delegations also agreed on inspections of 40 outbound vessels to be carried out on Monday.
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