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New maps show how much progress Ukraine's ongoing counteroffensive, now firmly in its third month, has made in the east and south of the country as Moscow accuses Ukraine of drone strikes on Russian border regions.
Hotspots of fighting over the weekend along the front line include to the southwest of the destroyed city of Bakhmut, in Ukraine's contested Donetsk region, and around the southern settlement of Urozhaine in Zaporizhzhia, according to maps published by the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank on Saturday. Newsweek could not immediately establish the veracity of the maps.
Fierce clashes along these points of the front line came as Moscow blamed Ukraine for several drone strikes on Russian territory in multiple statements on Sunday, which it claimed Russian air defenses had "thwarted."
Ukraine often avoids claiming responsibility for specific drone attacks, but has said Moscow should expect further assaults on targets such as the Russian capital, which has become a frequent target for unmanned aerial vehicle missions.
Russia's Defense Ministry said a Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle was intercepted on Sunday at around 4 a.m. (9 p.m. ET) Moscow time over the Russian Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine. A second drone "terrorist attack" over Belgorod was reported by Russia at 11 a.m.
The Kremlin also said that a Ukrainian drone strike targeted the Kursk region at 11:30 a.m.. In a later update, Russia said another drone had been intercepted over Belgorod at 1:30 p.m.
Newsweek has reached out to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry and Kyiv's General Staff for comment via email.
Drone strikes appear to have been ramped up alongside Ukraine's counteroffensive, which has looked to push back dug-in Russian forces in the southern Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, as well as across Donetsk.
On Sunday, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said Russia had attempted "unsuccessful offensive actions" around the Donetsk village of Klishchiivka, with 39 combat clashes reported over the past day. Russia's Defense Ministry also said on Sunday its fighters had "repelled" Ukrainian attacks to the west of Klishchiivka.
Russian military bloggers had said Moscow's troops had withdrawn from their positions in the Zaporizhzhia village of Urozhaine, along the southern front line, "after days of intense fighting," the ISW said on Saturday. Newsweek contacted the Russian Defense Ministry for comment.
Vladimir Rogov, a Russian-installed official in the Zaporizhzhia region, which Moscow annexed in September 2022, said early on Sunday that Ukrainian forces had advanced in part of the village.
"After two weeks of the most difficult and bloody battles for this settlement, the enemy managed to enter and gain a foothold in the northern part of Urozhaine," Rogov wrote on Telegram. "Russian soldiers continue to hold positions in the southern part of this settlement," he added.
About the writer
Ellie Cook is a Newsweek security and defense reporter based in London, U.K. Her work focuses largely on the Russia-Ukraine ... Read more