The Ukrainian army says it has made ground gains in the eastern Donetsk region, driving back occupying Russian troops.
"The eastern grouping of troops began an offensive in several sections at the same time today," Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said on Telegram.
She said in the process, Russian troops had been pushed back around the destroyed town of Bakhmut.
On other sections of the front in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, Kiev's fighters repelled attacks by Russian units, she said.
Meanwhile there is fierce fighting in southern Ukraine, where Kiev's forces are also trying to take back land occupied by Russia, she said. There is a high number of casualties on the Russian side, Maliar said, though her statement could not be independently verified.
