dpa
Kiev
Ukrainian forces have regained around 16 square kilometres of land from Russian troops in recent weeks, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian military said on Thursday.
“We are continuing our defensive operations and carrying out counterattacks with some successes,” Oleksandr Syrskyi wrote on Facebook after a three-day visit to the heavily contested eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk. The liberated areas included the villages of Kotlyne, Udachne and Shevchenko, near the key city of Pokrovsk.
Kiev has lost ground across the front in recent months, being forced to retreat from its positions in the Russian region of Kursk and in other areas in eastern Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced an interim step on the way to a raw materials deal with the United States.
“The memorandum of understanding could be signed online today,” Zelensky told journalists in Kiev on Thursday.
