(Kyiv) Ukraine reported intense fighting on the eastern front with Russian forces on Sunday, with Vladimir Putin saying for his part that the Ukrainian army’s counter-offensive, launched in June, had been defeated.
The Russian president has also still not announced whether Moscow agrees to renew the agreement which expires Monday evening on exports via the Black Sea of Ukrainian cereals, of crucial importance for world markets and in particular African countries. and the Middle East.
The Ukrainian general staff said on Sunday that the army “continued to carry out offensive action in the areas of Melitopol and Berdyansk” in the southeast, where it seeks to advance towards the Sea of Azov to cut the Russian lines and isolate Crimea.
In the east, further north, “the situation has intensified somewhat”, due to the efforts of Russian forces to counter-attack in several areas, where the Ukrainian army finds itself in a “defensive” position, has his side indicated the Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Defense Ganna Malyar.
“For two days in a row, the enemy actively attacked in the Kupyansk sector of the Kharkiv region,” she said on Sunday. “Fierce fighting is taking place, and positions […] change several times a day.
Kyiv admitted to fighting difficult battles and called on its allies to provide more weapons and long-range artillery.
But the deputy minister argued that Ukrainian forces were “gradually advancing” near Bakhmout, a small town that fell under Russian control in May after months of deadly clashes.
Ukrainian soldiers are advancing south of Bakhmout, and are trying to hold the positions won north of the city, she added.
Surround Bakhmout
On the front in this area, a commander of the artillery battalion of the 22e Ukrainian mechanized brigade told AFP to be satisfied with the counter-offensive, but said that every meter of ground was won at the cost of heavy fighting.
“Every day we gain 10, 20, 100 meters is already a great victory,” said the commander, identifying himself under the nom de guerre “Bulat”.
“We are surrounding Bakhmout, chasing (the Russians) from Klychchivka”, a village located south of the city, said for his part “Volyna”, the commander of an artillery battery.
Bakhmout, which had a pre-war population of 70,000 and was known for its salt mines and sparkling wines, was all but destroyed by months of Russian bombardment.
“In Bakhmout itself, we are bombing the enemy, and the enemy is bombing us,” said Deputy Minister Ganna Malyar.
In the southeast, the Ukrainian army announced on Friday that it had advanced another nearly two kilometers in a week towards Melitopol, a city occupied by the Russians shortly after the start of their offensive in February 2022.
“People should understand the price we pay. The enemies are many. We need time to crush them,” “Boulat” told AFP.
Optimistic Putin
In an interview with the Rossia-1 television channel broadcast on Sunday, Vladimir Putin for his part said that the Ukrainian counter-offensive was not making any progress.
“All attempts by the enemy to break through our defense […], have failed since the beginning of the offensive. The enemy did not achieve success, ”assured the Russian president.
PHOTO ALEXEY BABUSHKIN, SPUTNIK VIA AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
Speaking in an interview with the Rossia-1 television channel, broadcast on Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin considered that the situation was “positive” for the Russian forces on the front.
“Our troops are performing heroically. Unexpectedly for the adversary, they even go on the offensive in certain sectors and capture more advantageous positions,” he said.
Led since June with the support of heavy weapons delivered by the West, the Ukrainian counter-offensive is progressing slowly against Russian troops who have time to establish solid defenses, including formidable minefields, and still have significant firepower to pound the Ukrainian forces.
On Tuesday, the Russian army claimed to have advanced 1.5 kilometers in one of the areas of the Eastern Front, near Lyman.
It also announced on Sunday that it had neutralized at least ten Ukrainian drones, near Sevastopol in Crimea, the headquarters of the Russian fleet in the Black Sea regularly targeted by this type of attack.
Grain deal expires
While the Ukrainian grain agreement expires on Monday, Vladimir Putin has not yet said whether Russia will agree to renew it.
The Russian president had a telephone conversation on Saturday with his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa on this subject.
“Vladimir Putin stressed that the obligations set out in the Russia-UN memorandum on the removal of obstacles for the export of Russian food products and fertilizers are still not fulfilled,” the Kremlin said.
“The main objective of the agreement, the delivery of cereals to countries in need, particularly on the African continent, is not achieved,” the Russian presidency also said in a statement.
On Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, mediator between Kyiv and Moscow, assured that Mr. Putin was “agree” to extend this vital agreement on Ukrainian cereals. But the Kremlin had denied making any statement about it.
Signed in July 2022 in Istanbul and already renewed twice, the agreement expires Monday evening at midnight in Istanbul (5 p.m. Eastern time). Over the past year, it has enabled nearly 33 million tonnes of cereals to be taken out of Ukrainian ports despite the conflict.