Ukrainian troops advancing in all directions in their counterattack against the Russian occupation forces, the country’s Deputy Minister of Defense Hana Maliar said today Friday.

Since the start of the counteroffensive this month, Ukraine claims it has regained control of villages in the southeastern part of the country, although Russia continues to hold territory in the east, south and southeast.

“If we are talking about the entire front line, in the east and the south, we have taken the strategic initiative and are moving in all directions,” Deputy Defense Minister Hana Maliar said on Ukrainian television.

Reuters was unable to ascertain the situation on the battlefield. Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022, has not recognized Ukrainian territorial gains, claiming that the Ukrainian military suffers heavy losses.

Maliar said Ukrainian troops were moving “confidently” on the flanks of the front around the devastated Russian-held city of Bakhmut, with the main fighting taking place around the city. “In the south, we are moving with mixed results, sometimes there are days that are more than a kilometer, some less than a kilometer, some up to two kilometers,” he said.

He noted that the effectiveness of the counterattack should be assessed by “many different military missions” and not just by advances and the liberation of settlements.

“Therefore, all these missions are being carried out and only the military can assess this properly and accurately and according to their assessment, everything is going according to plan,” he said.

The president Volodymyr Zelensky has indicated that the counteroffensive is proceeding more slowly than desired, but that Kiev should not be pressured to speed up.