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Russian and Ukrainian forces are reporting intense fighting along the border of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk and southern Zaporizhzhia regions as Kyiv’s military attempts to break through the front lines and recapture territory in an ongoing counteroffensive.
The new reports came as Russian missiles attacked the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih early Tuesday, killing at least six people and injuring 25, according to Oleksandr Vilkul, head of the Kryvyi Rih city military administration.
Air defenses shot down three cruise missiles over the city but there were also “incomings” that hit civilian infrastructure, authorities said, adding that a five-story apartment building was on fire.
The latest battle reports came from Moscow-backed officials and military bloggers who detailed clashes south of the town of Velyka Novosilka along both sides of the Mokri Yaly River, where Ukrainian forces have made gains in recent days.
Ukraine on Saturday seized several small villages along the river, according to geolocated video. And on Sunday, Ukraine’s deputy defense minister Hanna Maliar said Kyiv’s advances in the area amount to between 5 and 10 kilometers (3 to 6 miles).
Late Monday, a senior Russia-appointed official, Vladimir Rogov, spoke of heavy fighting in an area known as the Vremivka Ridge, claiming that higher ground remained under Russian control.
Rogov, a member of the Russian-installed Zaporizhzhia administration, said on Telegram that Russian attack helicopters were in action, and that in the vicinity of the village of Urozhaine, “reciprocal shelling and heavy fighting of ultra-high intensity continues.”
Rogov conceded that Ukrainian forces were “holding their positions on the northern and eastern outskirts of the village.”
Russian forces are trying to repel Ukraine’s breakthrough with counterattacks, according to the unofficial Russian Telegram channel, Operatsiya Z.
The channel said Monday that Ukrainian forces were trying to take higher ground to “create conditions for advancing,” and assessed that their aim was to advance toward the Russian-occupied hub of Staromlynivka.
