Sept 27 (Reuters) - Ukrainian troops held off determined attacks on Wednesday by Russian forces trying to regain lost positions on the eastern front, military officials said, while analysts suggested Kyiv's forces were also making progress in the southern theatre. Ilia Yevlash, a spokesperson for Ukraine's eastern group of forces, told national television: "We continue to repel intense enemy attacks near Klishchiivka and Andriivka. There had been 544 Russian shelling incidents in the past 24 hours in the area, seven combat clashes and four air attacks, Yevlash said. Tarnavskyi referred to the village of Verbove, which other officials have said Ukrainian forces are poised to seize. Ukrainian forces are targeting several other villages as they progress through Zaporizhzhia region towards the major town of Tokmak.

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Persons: Ilia Yevlash, Yevlash, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, Roman Svitan, Ron Popeski, Maria Starkov, Jamie Freed 私 Organizations: Russian, Ukraine's, Staff, Russia's Defence Ministry, CNN Locations: Ukrainian, Bakhmut, Azov, Russia, Crimean, Klishchiivka, Russian, Donetsk, Nevelske, Verbove, Tokmak