Ukraine said its troops had caught occupying Russian troops “in a trap“ in the shattered eastern city of Bakhmut, where its forces have been gaining ground as part of their counter-offensive.
Russian accounts of the fighting said Moscow’s forces have repelled or contained Ukrainian advances in the east and south.
More than 500 days into the invasion, Ukraine’s counter-offensive which began early last month has focused on capturing clusters of villages in the southeast and moving in on Russian forces holding Bakhmut.
Officials on Monday noted advances in both sectors.
“Bakhmut. The enemy is caught in a trap,” general Oleksander Syrskyi, in charge of Ukraine’s ground forces, said bluntly on the Telegram messaging app. “The city is under the fire control of (our) defence forces...the enemy is being pushed out of their positions.”
In the south, general Oleksander Tarnavskyi said on Telegram Ukrainian forces were “on the move” and Russian forces had lost the equivalent of hundreds of men over 24 hours.
