Ukraine said on Tuesday its military has captured ground around Kharkiv in the northeast and is resisting a heavy Russian assault in frontline towns near the eastern city of Donetsk.
Ukrainian officials said Russian troops were launching waves of attacks as they try to seize control of the industrialised Donbas region.
“The situation in the region is tense – shelling is constant throughout the front line … The enemy is also using air strikes a great deal,” Donetsk regional Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko told Ukrainian television.
“The enemy is having no success," he added. "Donetsk region is holding.”
Near Kharkiv in the northeast, Ukrainian troops captured the town of Dovhenke from Russian forces and were advancing towards Izium, Ukrainian Presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said in a video posted on YouTube.
“The situation is very interesting. Ukraine’s forces are moving very successfully. Attempts by Russia to regain lost ground were not successful. Ukraine may end up encircling them,” he said.
Euronews cannot independently verify these claims.
Up to 80,000 Russians have been killed or wounded in Ukraine since the war began in late February, a senior Pentagon official estimated.
"The Russians have probably taken 70 or 80,000 casualties in less than six months," Under Secretary of Defense Colin Kahl said on Monday.
He added that Moscow's armed forces have also lost "3,000 to 4,000" armoured vehicles, and could be running low on precision-guided missiles, including air and sea-launched cruise missiles.
Kahl admitted that Ukraine had also suffered significant troop losses, however stopped short of giving an exact figure.
"Both sides are taking casualties," he said. "The war is the most intense conventional conflict in Europe
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