Russia desperately tries to halt Ukraine’s counteroffensive, accumulating troops on all fronts – Ukraine’s defense ministry

The Russians are accumulating troops on all fronts, trying with all their might to stop the offensive of Ukraine's armed forces.

The Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Maliar stated this on the broadcast of the Yedyny Novyny telethon, Ukrinform reports.

"In the south, as well as in the east, our Defense Forces are facing extreme enemy resistance. The Russians are accumulating troops on all fronts. In addition, they are bringing up their professional units, which are the most prepared. They are getting equipment and trying with all their might to stop our advance ", said Maliar.

She noted that very active combat operations are ongoing on the Bakhmut, Lyman, and Kupiansk fronts, both on the part of the enemy and on the part of the Ukrainian defenders.

In east Ukraine, the enemy is trying to advance on the Avdiivka and Mariinka fronts.

"On the Avdiivka front, they [the Russian troops – ed.] want to surround Avdiivka. They are afraid to enter the city itself. Therefore, they have been trying to bypass Avdiivka for several months in a row. This morning, they again tried to move to bypass Avdiivka but again suffered huge losses," the deputy minister of defense emphasized.

The spokeswoman added that the enemy practically destroyed Mariinka but kept the goal of taking it under control.

According to her information, the enemy is on the defensive on the Kupiansk, Lyman, and Bakhmut fronts. On the Bakhmut front, Ukrainian troops successfully advance along the southern flank. The enemy is trying to regain its lost position on the northern flank.

Maliar noted that to distract Ukraine's Defense Forces from the Bakhmut front, the Russians are trying to activate on the Kupiansk and Lyman fronts.

According to the Deputy Minister of Defense, Ukrainian troops are advancing gradually but surely in the south.

"There are also battles going on everywhere. Battles are going on around Staromayorsk. Our Armed Forces are having success there and are entrenched in certain positions, but we cannot tell you more," Maliar emphasized.

For reference:

On July 26, the Air Force of Ukraine's armed forces shot down two of the Russian occupiers' Kalibr cruise missiles in Vinnytsia that had been fired from the Black Sea.