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Fighting in eastern Ukraine "somewhat intensified" as Ukrainian and Russian forces clashed in at least three areas on the eastern front, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said Sunday on the messaging app Telegram.
Ukrainian forces claim they are making steady progress along the northern and southern flanks of the war-ravaged city of Bakhmut, which Russian forces have occupied since May.
Battles are also raging along the southern front in Zaporizhzhia, where Ukrainian forces are making minimal gains against formidable Russian fortifications.
Maliar recently claimed that Kyiv's forces had destroyed six Russian ammunition depots in the space of 24 hours, a remark that hinted at Ukrainian tactics.
"We inflict effective, painful and precise blows and bleed the occupier, for whom the lack of ammunition and fuel will sooner or later become fatal," she said.
Logistics
British Admiral Tony Radakin, chief of the U.K.'s defense staff, said that Ukraine's first goal is to starve Russian units of supplies and reinforcements by attacking logistic and command centers in the rear and then storm through when the front lines collapse.
"I would describe it as a policy of starve, stretch and strike,'' Radakin told a British parliamentary committee.
Radakin said that Ukraine lacks vital air cover for its attacks. Kyiv has won pledges from its Western allies of F-16 fighter jets, but they aren't expected until next year. Ukraine is also asking for long-range weapons and more ammunition.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Sunday in an interview with state television that Ukraine's operation was "not succeeding" and that attempts to break through Russian defenses had failed.
In an interview with ABC's "This Week" TV program, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Ukraine's counteroffensive was never expected to be quick and easy. "We said before this counteroffensive started that it would be hard going, and it's been hard going. That's the nature of war. But the Ukrainians are continuing to move forward," he said.
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One man was killed, and several people were wounded Sunday in Russian shelling of a district of Kharkiv, in eastern Ukraine local officials said.
Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram that seven people were injured in the shelling of the southern Osnovyanskyi district of the city. Reuters could not independently confirm details of the attack and casualty figures.
Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Russia's Belgorod region, said Sunday that Ukrainian forces had shelled the Russian town of Shebekino about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the Ukrainian border with Grad missiles, killing a woman riding her bike.
Both Russia and Ukraine have denied targeting civilians.
Black Sea grain initiative
The last ship to travel under a U.N.-brokered grain deal that allows the safe Black Sea export of Ukrainian grain left the port of Odesa early Sunday ahead of the initiative's expiration deadline Monday.
Putin is remaining silent about a possible extension of the deal.
In a phone call Saturday with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Putin discussed "the need for a permanent and sustainable solution to the movement of grain from Russia and Ukraine to the international markets," according to the South African president's office. No further details were provided.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has asked Putin to extend the deal in return for connecting a subsidiary of Russia's agricultural bank, Rosselkhozbank, to the SWIFT international payment system, but he has not received a reply, according to a U.N. spokesperson Friday.
"Discussions are being had, WhatsApp messages are being sent, Signal messages are being sent and exchanged. We're also waiting for a response to the letter," U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters when asked about the negotiations.
Russia has said it would agree to extend the grain deal only if its conditions are met regarding implementation.
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.