The Russian army announces its advance towards Kobyansk which regained by Ukrainian forces last September

The Russian army confirmed on Monday that it had advanced within three days, 3 km towards Kobyansk in northeastern Ukraine, the area liberated by Ukrainian forces last September and which has been facing a Russian offensive for several weeks.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said in its daily briefing, “During the past three days, Russian soldiers advanced in this direction at a depth of more than 3 km in a strip on the front with a length of 11 km”.

The area is located between the towns of Vilchana and Prchotravne, in the northeast of Kobyansk, the city whose population before the conflict was 26 to 28 thousand people.

Ukraine had admitted in mid-July that it was in a defensive position in the Kobyansk region, where the Russian army launched an offensive.

Since then, Moscow asserts that it is gnawing away at its lands.

The Ukrainian forces launched a massive counteroffensive in June to recapture territory in the east and south of the country occupied by the Russian army.

However, progress so far has been limited as Russia has built strong defense lines with trenches, anti-tank ambushes and minefields.

Ukrainian forces retook the Kobyansk region and most of the Kharkiv region in September from Russian forces after launching a surprise attack.

This area currently is one of the rare fronts in which Russia launches an offensive.

For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday, that Russia launched two missile attacks that hit a residential building in the city of Pokrovsk, located in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine.

He added, on Telegram, “Two missiles hit a residential building… Unfortunately, there were casualties… Lifeguards and all necessary services on site… Saving people continues”.