Ukraine said on Monday its troops had regained more territory on the eastern front and were advancing further south in their counteroffensive against Russian forces.

Deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said Kyiv’s forces had retaken about 3 square km of land in the past week around the eastern city of Bakhmut, which was captured by Russian troops in May after months of heavy fighting.

She also reported unspecified “success” in the direction of the villages Novodanylivka and Novoprokopivka in the southern region of Zaporizhzhia but gave no details.

Ukraine has now taken back about 47 square km of territory around Bakhmut since starting its counteroffensive in early June, Maliar wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

Reuters was not able to verify the reports. Russia has not confirmed the Ukrainian gains.

Kyiv has retaken a number of villages and settlements in its three-month-old offensive but its soldiers have been hampered by vast Russian minefields and trenches.

Maliar said last week that Ukrainian troops had broken through the first line of Russian defences, and Ukraine’s military expects now to advance more rapidly.

Mathematician held

Authorities in Russia arrested a mathematician on terrorism charges on Monday after he had just completed a prison sentence for hooliganism.

Azat Miftakhov, 30, was detained minutes after his release from a penal colony
over 900km east of Moscow, according to Russian media reports.