Ukraine says its forces advance in all directions of counteroffensive

FILE PHOTO: A Ukrainian serviceman of the 47th Magura Separate Mechanised Brigade sits inside a M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle at a position near a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine June 26, 2023. REUTERS/Rfe/Rl/Serhii Nuzhnenko/File Photo

KYIV (Reuters) - Ukrainian troops are advancing in all directions of their counteroffensive against occupying Russian forces, a senior defence official said on Friday.

Since the start of the counteroffensive this month, Ukraine says it has reasserted control over clusters of villages in the southeast although Russia still holds swathes of territory in the east, south and southeast.