Ukraine says it advances in south, stops Russian attack in east
The HinduUkraine's armed forces have halted a Russian offensive towards the cities of Kupiansk and Lyman in the east of the country, and are advancing in the south, a senior Ukrainian defence official said on June 23. Ukraine is in the early stages of its most ambitious counterattack since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022 and says it has retaken eight villages, its first substantial gains on the battlefield for seven months. But Russia still holds swathes of territory in eastern and southern Ukraine, and Ukrainian forces have yet to push to the main defensive lines that Russia has had months to prepare. Each side says the other has suffered heavy losses since Ukraine began its counteroffensive, and Moscow has not acknowledged Ukraine's recent military gains.