Ukraine says gains made amid intense fighting in east despite Russia’s aerial dominance

Russia using ground and air forces in eastern Ukraine’s Lyman and Kupiansk region

Ukrainian forces have advanced in the eastern part of the war-hit nation where officials said Vladimir Putin has deployed over 110,000 troops, but Kyiv officials reported pressure further north.

The intensity of assaults have increased in the Lyman-Kupiansk sector, Ilia Yevlash, spokesperson for Ukraine’s eastern group of forces, said. Mr Yevlash called the two towns the “most difficult area” as Russian forces use both ground and air forces.

Russian forces are actively using fighter jets, Su-35 and Su-25, and helicopters Ka-52 and Mi-8 in the region, he said. They were backed by Su-35 attack aircraft and started attacking along the frontline in the direction of Makiivka in the Luhansk region.

Lyman and Kupiansk towns in Kharkiv oblast were recaptured by Ukrainian troops late last year and have witnessed continuous Russian assaults since then.

“The enemy has chosen a new point – Makiivka – and is directing all its main efforts into this direction. Of course, we are also repulsing enemy attacks and inflicting damage on forces and equipment," Mr Yevlash said in a daily update.

Kyiv’s battle to regain ground near the ghost city of Bakhmut, which has been reduced to rubble in a warfare lasting over a year, is also continuing in the eastern theatre.

Two main theatres of war – in southern Ukraine and eastern Ukraine – have cropped up during Kyiv’s four-month old counteroffensive to push back Russian forces off its soil.

In its evening report, the general staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces claimed Kyiv’s troops had "achieved success" south of Andriivka.

The village south of Bakhmut was captured by Ukrainian troops last month in the Donetsk region.

The Ukrainian general staff said its forces were pressing on with their southward advance in the Zaporizhzhia region and had repelled a Russian attack near the village of Robotyne.

The report said Russian forces had unsuccessfully tried to regain lost positions in an area further south.

This was further corroborated by Russian accounts of the fighting which said Moscow’s forces had repelled two Ukrainian attacks west of the Russian-held city of Donetsk.

In the southern theatre, Kyiv’s forces are pushing toward the Sea of Azov in an attempt to split Russian-occupied territory in two.