Ukraine regains more territory, retakes offshore drilling platforms near Crimea

KYIV - Ukraine reported on Monday that its troops have regained more territory on the eastern and southern fronts, as well as several gas and oil offshore drilling platforms close to Crimea, in its military counter-offensive against Russian forces.

Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said Kyiv’s forces had retaken close to 2 sq km of land in the past week around the shattered eastern city of Bakhmut, which was captured by Russian troops in May after months of gruelling fighting.

Ms Maliar told Ukrainian television that Ukrainian forces captured part of the village of Opytne, south of the city of Avdiivka, and had partial success near the village of Novomaiorske in the eastern Donetsk region. “There was movement near Opytne; (Ukrainian) defence forces captured part of this settlement,” she added.

She also reported some success near Andriivka and Klishchiivka, a village on heights south of Bakhmut seen as critical to securing control of the city.

Ukrainian troops have liberated 49 sq km near Bakhmut since the start of the three-month-old counter-offensive, Ms Maliar said.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s military intelligence, GUR, said on the Telegram messaging app that special forces sent by Kyiv have retaken the drilling platforms known as the Boiko Towers in a “unique operation”. The platforms had been occupied since 2015 by Russia, which seized and annexed Crimea in 2014.

“For Ukraine, regaining control of the Boiko Towers was of strategic importance and, as a result, Russia lost the ability to use them for military purposes,” GUR said.

“Russia has been deprived of the ability to fully control the waters of the Black Sea, and this makes Ukraine many steps closer to regaining Crimea.”

It said there was a clash between Ukrainian special forces on boats and a Russian fighter jet, which was damaged and forced to retreat.

The GUR said it also captured other “valuable trophies”, such as helicopter munitions and a radar system that can track the movement of ships in the Black Sea.

Before Russia seized the Crimea peninsula, Ukraine extracted a significant part of its natural gas from the Black Sea shelf, providing gas not only for Crimea but also to mainland regions of Ukraine.

In the south, where Ukrainian forces are trying to advance towards the Sea of Azov in a drive that is intended to split Russian forces, Ms Maliar said Kyiv had retaken 1.5 sq km in the past week.

She added that Ukrainian forces had successes south of the villages of Robotyne and west of Verbove in the Zaporizhzhia region.

Kyiv has retaken villages and settlements

in its three-month-old offensive, but its soldiers have been hampered by vast Russian minefields and trenches.

Reuters was not able to verify the reports and Russia has not confirmed the Ukrainian advances. REUTERS