Fighting on the southern front

Russia and Ukraine offer competing claims on the state of fighting on the southern front

From Olga Voitovych, Svitlana Vlasova and Tim Lister

Russian and Ukrainian officials report heavy fighting in a small area of the southern front, with no clear sign as to which side may have the upper hand.

The Russian Defense Ministry claims that its units along the southern front lines have repelled attacks by Ukraine near the village of Robotyne, which has been the focus of fighting for several weeks.

Ukrainian officials paint a different picture. Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said there was progress in the area south of Robotyne and west of Verbove. Nearly five square kilometers of territory had been won in the previous week, for a total gain of 256 square kilometers (more than 98 square miles) since the counteroffensive began, she said.

CNN is unable to verify most of the claims made by either side, but Ukrainian units are in control of Robotyne, according to geolocated video, and attacking nearby Verbove.

Meanwhile in the east on the Bakhmut front, both sides have said that the village of Andriivka south of the city is the most intense part of the battle. The Ukrainian blogger Bakhmut Demon said that it was too early to celebrate victory there. Russia “artillery is still working, we have pushed the bastards back significantly, but they are not giving up yet,” the blogger said.

Much further east, and close to the Russian-held capital of Donetsk region, Russian blogger Neofitsyalnyi Bezsonov denied claims that Ukrainian units have a foothold in the heavily contested village of Optyne. “The enemy managed to enter the outskirts of the settlement, after which it was immediately knocked out of there. Optyne is fully under our control.”

Another well-known Russian blogger, Voenkor Kotenok, said Russia's problems in this area remain the same as they were six months ago — shortage of personnel, the lack of competent commanders and assaults.