In east and south of Ukraine, neither side has made significant progress, - Pentagon
In the eastern and southern parts of Ukraine, where fighting is taking place, neither side has made significant progress in recent times.
This was stated on Thursday by a spokesman for the US Department of Defense John Kirby, Censor.NET reports with reference to Ukrinform.
"Fighting in the area between Kherson and Mykolayiv continues, Ukrainian and Russian troops have clashes every day. And neither side has made much progress," he said, noting that Ukrainians would rate it as progress, as much as they deter Russians from attacking Mykolayiv. "And that's not enough," he added.
A Pentagon spokesman recalled that Ukraine was continuing a counteroffensive near Kharkiv, pushing Russian troops east, closer to the border.
At the same time, in Donbas, he said, the situation remains "more confusing."
"I mean, there are clashes and fights every day, sometimes for small farms and villages, sometimes for big cities, where Russians can succeed, but the next day they lose those achievements. So literally every day some territories pass from hand to hand," he said.
Kirby clarified that this is the situation in the northeast of Donbas, near Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, where "the Russians continue to make very gradual progress, moving west within the Donbas."
However, "they have not made much progress in the direction of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk," he said. According to Kirby, Ukraine is fiercely opposed to the enemy, receiving military assistance from the West.
He noted that the Ukrainian army is characterized by good command, organization and military initiative - in contrast to the Russian army, which "is still has to overcome our problems in terms of support, logistics, coordination of units, command and control, operational maneuverability, interaction of air and ground forces."
Russia is trying to improve the situation, but it still fails, a Pentagon spokesman added.
"Ukrainians continue to fight bravely, fiercely and very creatively," he said, noting the high fighting spirit, leadership skills of the command, "the desire and determination to defend every inch of their territory."
