Over the past week, a lot has happened on the ground, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar wrote on Monday morning.

– Last week our troops attacked and defended, wrote Maliar.

He claimed that Russia had done a lot to stop the Ukrainian advance on Bakhmut.

– I moved more troops there and ordered an increased artillery barrage, he wrote.

The Undersecretary of Defense later reported that the fighting there had decreased in intensity last week, but continued. He claimed that Ukrainian troops had made their way deep into the occupied territories.

Maliar claims they have taken back 113 square kilometers of land from Russia in the south of the country.

– Through the last two weeks of offensive operations in the direction of Berdjansk and Melitopol, eight settlements have been liberated, he wrote.

Both cities are in the Zaporizhzhya Oblast, where the British believe the Russians see themselves being forced to relocate people.

Strengthen two places

In Monday’s intelligence update, the UK Ministry of Defense wrote that Russia may have started moving troops from the eastern side of the Dnipro River to Zaporizhzhya and Bakhmut to strengthen its defensive lines.

– This could potentially involve several thousand forces, they wrote.

Britain believes this troop transfer may reflect Russia’s impression that a Ukrainian attack across the Dnipro River is unlikely.

The reason for this was the collapse of the Kakhovka dam and the subsequent flooding, they wrote.

Russia also reports that things are happening in Zaporizhzhya.

Russia’s state-run Interfax news agency wrote early on Monday that the FSB would uncover Ukrainian plots against the occupying power in Zaporizhzhya Oblast.

In a statement, the FSB claimed to have stopped a series of acts of sabotage and terrorism aimed at top government commanders imprisoned in Russia.

Reuters reports that the FSB has arrested a woman in connection with the investigation.

– There is no alternative

In his daily video address on Sunday evening, the Ukrainian president said that Russia must prepare residents of the occupied territories for the loss of occupied territories, as Ukrainian troops will step by step liberate their country.

“There is no alternative to getting Russia out of Ukraine,” Zelensky said.

He added that Ukraine expects new pledges of military assistance from its allies in the coming weeks.

During his speech, Zelenskyj also mocked Russian President Vladimir Putin, who claimed that Russian forces had destroyed five American Patriot air defense systems. According to American media, only two of these systems are implemented in Ukraine.

– Not a single Patriot was destroyed! Zelensky claims.

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