Ukraine claimed to be gaining ground near the ravaged eastern city of Bakhmout, but downplayed the extent of "offensive actions" carried out elsewhere on the front, with Russia claiming instead to repel large-scale attacks.
These operations take place at a time when the Ukrainian authorities say they have been preparing for months a vast counter-offensive intended to force Russian troops to withdraw from the areas they occupy.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked his troops for the territorial gains they claimed, ironically over Moscow's "hysterical" reaction.
"We see how hysterically Russia reacts to all the advances we make in this sector, to all the positions we take. The enemy knows that Ukraine will win," Zelensky said in a statement. video message.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak previously quipped on Twitter that Russia is "busy repelling a global offensive that does not yet exist".
"Why are the Russians actively publishing information about a counter-offensive? Because they need to divert attention (about) the defeat in the direction of Bakhmout," the deputy minister asked. Ukrainian Defense, Ganna Maliar, on Telegram.
The Russian Ministry of Defense for its part claimed to have countered since the morning of June 4 attacks on five sectors of the front "in the southern direction of the Donetsk region", located in the east.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces had killed "more than 1,500 Ukrainian servicemen" and destroyed "28 tanks". A statement derided by the leader of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, Evguéni Prigojine, accustomed to virulent criticism of the general staff.
“These are just rantings,” Mr. Prigojine commented in a message on Telegram. Killing 1,500 soldiers in one day is "one hell of a massacre", he quipped, mocking Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov. "In fact, why not add up all the numbers given by Konashenkov. I think we have already destroyed the whole planet Earth five times," he quipped.
During the night of Monday to Tuesday, a new air attack targeted kyiv, "possibly using cruise missiles", reported the civil and military administration of the Ukrainian capital.
"According to preliminary information, more than 20 enemy air targets have been detected and destroyed" by the Ukrainian air defense. No casualties were reported but a debris fall in Desnyansky district damaged pavement, trolleybus power lines and shop windows, the local administration said.
According to Kiev, the Bakhmout sector, which is the scene of the longest and deadliest battle of the conflict and which Moscow claimed to have taken in May, remains "the epicenter of hostilities".
Mrs Maliar affirms that the Ukrainian forces are advancing on the outskirts of this city "on a fairly broad front": "We are winning successes and occupying the dominant heights".
According to her, the Ukrainian troops have advanced several hundred meters on this sector of the front.
This Ukrainian progression was confirmed by Mr. Prigojine, according to whom "part of the locality of Berkhivka is already lost", a "shame".
Experts and Russian soldiers expect that kyiv multiplies the attacks on the enemy lines to detect weaknesses there, before launching the bulk of the troops.
In September 2022, the Ukrainian army secretly prepared an assault that resulted in the reconquest of almost all of the Kharkiv region in the northeast.
In Russia, for two weeks, incursions and bombings have multiplied in the Belgorod region, bordering Ukraine, claimed by fighters presenting themselves as Russians who are fighting alongside Ukrainians.
The strikes killed several civilians and injured dozens of civilians.
In the latest operation, on Sunday, one such group dubbed the "Freedom Legion of Russia" took prisoners who are to be handed over to kyiv. A dozen detainees, including two injured, are visible in a video.
This is the first time that Russians have been captured on Russian territory.
The Russian Defense Ministry did not comment, saying only that it repelled another incursion on Sunday.
Fighting has been concentrated in recent days around Novaya Tavoljanka and Chebekino, near the border, forcing thousands of civilians to flee to Belgorod, the regional capital.
"What exactly is happening in the Belgorod region at the moment? It's simple, it's a boomerang effect", wrote on Twitter Mykhaïlo Podoliak, repeating that Ukraine was "not involved in these attacks.
06/06/2023 07:47:44 - Kiev (Ukraine) (AFP) © 2023 AFP
