Russian forces claim gains along Ukraine
Russia said yesterday its troops had pushed forward a few kilometres along the frontlines in Ukraine, while Kyiv said its forces had repelled Russian attacks in several areas.
As the first anniversary of the Russian invasion neared, much of the fighting was taking place around the eastern city of Bakhmut, still in Ukrainian hands amid a months-long battle.
The Ukrainian military yesterday reported heavy Russian shelling all along the frontline and said 16 settlements had been bombarded near Bakhmut.
Russia's Defence Ministry said Russian troops had managed to advance 2 km (1.2 miles) to the west in four days. However, it did not say which part of the long frontline, encompassing several Ukrainian regions in the south and east, had moved.
Ukraine's military said that over the past day, its forces had repelled a number of attacks near Bakhmut, which sits in the Donetsk region, as well as assaults in the Kharkiv, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of Russia's Wagner Group, said on Sunday the mercenary force had taken the village of Krasna Hora, on the northern edge of Bakhmut. Wagner has for months spearheaded the assault on Bakhmut, making small but steady gains.
Bakhmut is a major objective for Russian President Vladimir Putin and months of Russian shelling have left much of it in ruins.
The Donetsk region is partially occupied by Russia and Moscow wants to occupy it fully. However, neither side has made a decisive gain for weeks.
Later on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said power workers had repaired much of the damage to the energy grid caused by Russian missile and drone strikes on Friday in Kyiv.
But he warned the population it was too early to declare victory on the energy front. Russia has carried out repeated waves of attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities in recent months.
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