The spokesman for the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Andriy Kovalev, revealed early this Wednesday that "Ukrainian forces are gaining some territory toward Melitopol and Berdyansk in the Zaporizhzhia region." Reports quoted Kovalev stating in a post on a channel affiliated with the Ukrainian military media center on Telegram: "They have achieved partial success. They are gaining land," noting that "some of that land is near the settlements of Mala Tokmachka and Robotyne." He confirmed that "Ukraine continues to counter the advance of Russian forces in the east of the country, with exceptionally fierce fighting occurring near Lyman in Donetsk."
For her part, Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Maliar stated that "Ukrainian forces achieved partial success the previous day and reinforced their positions at the points they reached." She affirmed that Kyiv’s forces continue their offensive operations toward the city of Melitopol and toward Berdyansk on the Sea of Azov. Maliar mentioned that fighting is intense in the eastern part of the country, particularly near the town of Lyman, which Kyiv regained from Russian forces in October. She said, "In the east of the country, defenders continue to repel a major attack by Russian forces toward Lyman and Bakhmut." She emphasized that "the east remains the main focus of Russian offensive operations, and Moscow still aims to reach the borders of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which form the industrial Donbas area."
