Maliar said the advances brought the territory recaptured since
the counteroffensive began in early June to more than 192 square
km in the southern sector.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday the
counteroffensive had failed, but U.S. Secretary of State Antony
Blinken said these were still the "early days" of the Ukrainian
counterattack.
In a video message distributed by President Volodymyr
Zelenskiy's office, Maliar said Ukrainian forces were continuing
to advance in several areas towards the southern city of
Melitopol and the city of Berdiansk which is on the Azov Sea.
In the east, she said, the main focus of fighting was around the
small city of Bakhmut captured by Russian forces in May after
months of fierce combat. Kyiv's forces continued to advance on
Bakhmut's southern flanks but to the north Russian forces were
"clinging to every centimetre and meter," she said.
Maliar said that Ukrainian forces had retaken about 4 square km
in this direction over the past week and the main battles were
around the villages of Klishchiivka, Andriivka and Kurdyumivka
southwest of Bakhmut.
The Ukrainian military said in its daily update there had been
35 combat clashes in the eastern direction over the past 24
hours.
Russia, which sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in
February 2022, still holds swathes of territory in southern and
eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said last
week that Ukraine's military faced "extremely complex
minefields, anti-tank barriers, and a system of fire
destruction" but continued to advance.
Russia reported a drone strike on Moscow on Monday in which it
said two buildings were struck but did not suffer major damage,
and Ukrainian officials said Russia launched the latest in a
series of attacks on the southern port of Odesa.
Reuters could not immediately verify the battlefield
developments. Russia has not confirmed that Ukraine has made
territorial gains, and said last week that its forces had
advanced in the northeast.
(Reporting by Olena Harmash, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
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