He was making gradual progressi the Ukrainian counterattack, according to Ukraine’s deputy defense minister, Hana Maliar.

As reported, Maliar said during a briefing that on the southern front – which many expect will be the main focus of Ukraine’s counteroffensive – the “attack continues in various directions and the armed forces are also advancing gradually.”

But he warned that “the enemy is putting up strong resistance.”

“There the armed forces face the use of kamikaze drones, intense shelling and the enemy certainly does not give up their positions easily. That is why there are battles everywhere and a strong confrontation”Maliar said.

He also pointed out that “all defense forces are involved in both offensive and defensive operations. That is, today we are conducting attack in many areas and defense, because the enemy is also carrying out offensive actions”.

He also appealed for what he called “information discipline” to “give our soldiers the opportunity to deliver unpleasant surprises to the enemy.”

Maliar said the Russians were bringing additional reserves to the Bakhmut area, trying to prevent the advance of Ukrainian forces. However, he stressed that Russian forces have not been able to capture more ground and claimed that Ukrainian forces have advanced three kilometers (almost two miles) in the Bakhmut region in the past ten days.

Brigadier General Oleksii Khromov stated during the briefing that “we are ready to continue fighting for the liberation of our territory even with our bare hands.”

He confirmed that in the early stages of the counteroffensive, which Ukraine said began last week, seven settlements had been liberated in the eastern Donetsk region and the southern Zaporizhia region, as reported by Reuters.