Russian forces claim gains along Ukraine frontline

 

KYIV, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Russia said on Monday its troops had pushed forward a few kilometres along the frontlines in Ukraine, while Kyiv said its forces had repelled Russian attacks in several areas.

As the first anniversary of the Russian invasion neared, much of the fighting was taking place around the eastern city of Bakhmut, still in Ukrainian hands amid a months-long battle.

The Ukrainian military on Monday reported heavy Russian shelling all along the frontline and said 16 settlements had been bombarded near Bakhmut.

Russia's Defence Ministry said Russian troops had managed to advance 2 km (1.2 miles) to the west in four days. However, it did not say which part of the long frontline, encompassing several Ukrainian regions in the south and east, had moved.

"The Russian servicemen broke the enemy's resistance and advanced several kilometres deeper into its echeloned defence," it said.

Ukraine's military said that over the past day, its forces had repelled a number of attacks near Bakhmut, which sits in the Donetsk region, as well as assaults in the Kharkiv, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of Russia's Wagner Group, said on Sunday the mercenary force had taken the village of Krasna Hora, on the northern edge of Bakhmut. Wagner has for months spearheaded the assault on Bakhmut, making small but steady gains.

Bakhmut is a major objective for Russian President Vladimir Putin and months of Russian shelling have left much of it in ruins.

The Donetsk region is partially occupied by Russia and Moscow wants to occupy it fully. However, neither side has made a decisive gain for weeks.

The commander-in-chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces, General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, said on Saturday that Ukrainian troops held their defence along the frontline in Donetsk and in some areas have managed to regain previously lost positions.

Reuters was not able to independently verify the battlefield reports.

VILLAGE UNDER FIRE

The frontline village of Chasiv Yar has been shelled heavily in recent days as Russian troops work to cut off routes to Bakhmut city.

One family told Reuters they had decided to leave the village after a projectile flew into their yard, destroying an outdoor toilet and damaging the roof and windows of their home.

Grandmother Raiisa Akusova, 75, suffered a heart attack shortly after setting off for the evacuation centre in Dnipro and volunteers took her to a medical centre where she was pronounced dead.

Her nine-year-old grandson Oleksandr was seen crying as the family considered where to hold the funeral.

With Ukraine desperate for more weapons and munitions to turn the tide of the war, defence ministers from several NATO countries allied to Kyiv were due to meet in Brussels on Tuesday to discuss possible further military aid.

Russia is widely thought to be planning a major new offensive and Ukraine says it needs fighter jets and long-range missiles to counter this and to recapture lost territory.

Russia invaded Ukraine last Feb. 24 saying its neighbour posed a security threat. Kyiv and the West say the action was nothing more than a land grab.

Putin's forces failed in an early bid to capture the capital and the conflict has since become a grinding war of attrition that has killed thousands of soldiers and civilians and left whole cities in ruins.

The chief of the Ukrainian presidential staff, Andriy Yermak, said on Monday that Russia must be punished severely for what he called its "heinous deeds". He called for a special international tribunal to be set up to bring Russia's leadership to justice.

"Sanctions pressure on Russia will increase. We are working methodically to isolate the terrorist state," he said on Twitter.

Ukraine was meeting consumers' energy needs on Monday after carrying out repairs to the national power network following the latest wave of Russian air strikes, Energy Minister German Galushchenko said.

Russia has repeatedly attacked Ukrainian energy facilities in recent months, at times leaving millions of people without light, heating or water supplies during the cold winter.