Ukraine's military claims further gains on southern front

The Ukrainian military said its units have extended gains on the southern front in the Zaporizhzhia region and remain on the offensive around the eastern city of Bakhmut.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces said Thursday that units had succeeded "in the direction of Novodanylivka and Novoprokopivka, consolidating their positions, inflicting artillery fire on the identified enemy targets, and conducting counter-battery operations."

Novoprokopivka is south of the village of Robotyne, which the Ukrainians said Wednesday they fully controlled. 

Meanwhile, the General Staff said "in the Bakhmut sector, the Defense Forces continue to conduct offensive actions south of the city of Bakhmut, consolidating their positions."

Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of Ukrainian Land Forces, said he had been working with commanders north and northeast of Bakhmut.

The General Staff also claimed the Russians had continued to conduct "unsuccessful offensives" in the areas of Avdiivka, Mariinka and Novomykhailivka in the Donetsk region. 

"The enemy is suffering significant losses in personnel, weapons and equipment, is moving units and troops and actively using reserves," it said.

In the northeast: Ukrainian forces were also holding back Russian attempts to advance further north around Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region, as well as efforts to break through west of Svatove in neighboring Luhansk. In this area, the Ukrainians say the Russians have poured more forces into the battlefield. 

Altogether, the Russians launched 10 missile strikes and 57 airstrikes Wednesday, the General Staff said.