Ukraine seizes back more than 38 square miles of land, says top commander

In its counteroffensive against Vladimir Putin’s forces, Ukraine has reclaimed more than 38 square miles of land, a top Ukrainian military commander announced on Thursday.

“We are ready to continue fighting to liberate our territory even with our bare hands,” Brigadier-General Oleksii Hromov told a media briefing.

He verified that seven settlements in the eastern province of Donetsk and the southern region of Zaporizhzhia had been freed in the early stages of the attack, which Ukraine claimed had started last week.

According to military officials, the army has advanced up to 7 km (4.3 miles) near a village south of Velyka Novosilka in the Donetsk sector and up to 3 km (1.8 miles) near the village of Mala Tokmachka in the Zaporizhzhia sector.

The allegations align with information from US military analysts.

Russia has not formally recognised the Ukrainian advances since it started its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Since the counteroffensive began, each side claims the other has sustained significant losses, but Moscow and Kyiv seldom ever discuss their own casualties.

In the meantime, it was revealed that the United States, Britain, the Netherlands, and Denmark will work together to supply Ukraine air defense weaponry, including hundreds of missiles, to aid it in fending off Russian soldiers.

Prior to a meeting of the US-led Ukraine Defence Contact Group in Brussels, the British government released a joint statement stating that delivery of the equipment has already started and should be finished “within a few weeks.”

The UK’s Defence Secretary Ben Wallace stressed: “Working with our international partners we are able to provide vital air defence equipment, which will help Ukraine support offensive operations and protect critical national infrastructure.”

The Ministry of Defense further stated that the budget would be used to purchase hundreds of short- and medium-range air defense systems.

The delivery of the equipment has already started and is anticipated to be finished in the coming weeks, it continued.

The bulk of the shipment consists of missiles from the Soviet-era that are being given to Ukraine for offensive operations and to safeguard vital national infrastructure.