[1/3] Ukrainian serviceman operates a reconnaissance unmanned aerial device over the outskirts of Bakhmut town, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near a frontline Donetsk region, Ukraine May 25, 2023.
Maliar said Ukrainian forces were advancing "slowly but confidently" south of Bakhmut while securing control of positions north of the city.
Accounts from Moscow said Russian troops had repelled eight Ukrainian attempts to advance in the east and inflicted a defeat near Bakhmut.
Ukrainian forces, she said, were also working to contain intensified Russian attacks on areas farther north in Donestsk region, around Kupiansk and Lyman.
One prominent commander who comments on the front, Maksym Zhorin, said Ukrainian forces had secured partial control of the key village of Klishchiivka.
Persons:
Anna Kudriavtseva, Hanna Maliar, Maliar, Lyman, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Maksym Zhorin, Ron Popeski, Nick Starkov, Cynthia Osterman
Organizations:
Ukrainian, REUTERS, Kyiv, Russian, Russia's Defence Ministry, Thomson
Locations:
Bakhmut, Ukraine, Donetsk, Moscow, Azov, Crimean, Kyiv, Donestsk, Kupiansk, Klishchiivka