Kiev [Ukraine], September 9: Ukrainian forces are holding off the Russian summer offensive and have even made small territorial gains, according to army chief Olexander Syrskyi, even as Ukrainian infrastructure suffered more damage in Russian attacks.
"We mainly focussed on stopping the enemy and inflicting as many losses as possible on them," the general said on Facebook. They had managed to stabilize the situation on vulnerable sections of the front such as at Lyman, Dobropillia and Pokrovsk, he said.
Several villages and a total of 58 square kilometres of land were recaptured in August, Syrskyj wrote. The general staff in Kiev cited the village of Zarichne near Lyman in the Donetsk region as the most recently recaptured settlement.
Ukrainian military bloggers also said that the village was now in the hands of Ukrainian troops. Foreign military observers such as the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in the United States have previously noted that the Russian army was unable to achieve a major breakthrough this summer despite its superior strength.
The Ukrainian military leadership has warned however that Russia is amassing forces in the Pokrovsk region and that they expect a further offensive.
A thermal power plant near Kiev was damaged by a Russian drone attack, authorities said earlier on Monday. (DPA)
Source: Qatar Tribune
