The Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrsky, announced the start of a new Russian offensive yesterday to capture a city of strategic importance in eastern Ukraine - Konstantinovka (Kostyantynovka in Ukrainian), Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
At the same time, Moscow announced that its forces were advancing southwest, the agency added.
After their advance on the capital Kiev in the early days of the war, which began in February 2022, was unsuccessful, Russian troops shifted their focus to capturing the entire territory of the eastern Donetsk region, Reuters recalls.
Kostyantynovka is the main objective of the Russian army. Ukrainian forces have been defending the city for months. Local authorities have been constantly urging residents to evacuate, and the power grid has been hit by frequent outages, Reuters reported.
"The enemy is advancing towards Konstantinovka, but apart from suffering numerous losses, they have achieved nothing," Syrsky wrote on the "Telegram" app. "The aggressor is trying to break through our defense lines and advance in three battle directions".
The spokesman for the Ukrainian troops of the eastern formation, Viktor Tregubov, told Ukrinform that "the main theaters of military operations and the Kremlin's strategic targets are Konstantinovka in the east and Pokrovsk in the west".
The General Staff of the Ukrainian Army announced on the social network "Facebook" that Ukrainian forces had struck an arms depot in the Russian Bryansk region, Ukrinform reported.
Ukrainian military intelligence coordinated with combat units a targeted strike carried out yesterday.
The General Staff specified that a fire broke out at the site of the struck target. The operation was part of a plan to weaken the offensive capabilities of Russian troops.
"The Armed Forces of Ukraine will continue to take any actions to undermine the military and economic potential of the Russian invaders," the General Staff of the Ukrainian Army emphasized, quoted by Ukrinform.
Polish President Andrzej Duda also met with the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada (local parliament) Ruslan Stefanchuk during his visit to Kiev, Ukrinform reported, citing Stefanchuk's post on the social network "Facebook".
Previously, the Polish head of state spoke with his counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.
Duda and Stefanchuk discussed strengthening the Ukrainian-Polish partnership, imposing more sanctions on Russia, and supporting Ukraine's efforts to join the EU and NATO.
"I had a meaningful conversation with President Andrzej Duda in Kiev. I expressed gratitude to Poland for the assistance provided in all areas - military, humanitarian and economic", Stefanczuk wrote on "Facebook". He also emphasized Warsaw's unwavering position as an ally of Kiev.