Ukraine says troops retake nearly 18 sq km of territory in east, south

Ukrainian forces have retaken nearly 18 square kilometers (7 square miles) of territory in the east and the south in the past week in their counteroffensive against Russian forces, Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said on Monday.

The advances brought the total territory recaptured so far during the counteroffensive to more than 210 sq km, she said in updates on the Telegram messaging app.

Ukraine launched its counteroffensive in June, aiming to retake occupied territory and seize the initiative in Russia's full-scale invasion, now in its 17th month.

Total recaptured area has expanded to 31 sq km

Maliar said troops had retaken 7 sq km in the past week in the direction of Bakhmut in the east, a small city captured by Russian forces in May after the bloodiest combat of the war. That brought the total recaptured in the area to 31 sq km.

In the south, where Ukrainian forces are trying to advance towards the cities of Berdyansk and Melitopol, they had recaptured nearly 11 sq km in the past week, bringing the total territory recaptured there to nearly 180 sq km.

Maliar added that Russian forces have been advancing since the end of last week towards the city of Kupiansk in the eastern Kharkiv region.