Gains made by Ukrainian troops against Russian forces along two parts of the front line have been displayed in the latest maps released by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
The U.S. think tank's update on Wednesday chimed with statements by the Ukrainian armed forces that Kyiv had made advances in western Zaporizhzhia oblast in the south and near Bakhmut, in the Donetsk oblast, further north.
Citing the Ukraine general staff, the think tank wrote Wednesday that Kyiv's troops had achieved unspecified partial successes near Robotyne, the town in Zaporizhzhia recaptured last month by Ukraine. Newsweek has as yet been unable to verify independently these claimed gains.
One ISW map noted how geolocated footage from Wednesday showed that Ukrainian forces were advancing south of Robotyne. This came a day after gains west of the settlement of Verbove, tipped to be next in Ukraine's sights.
Another ISW map depicting the Donetsk oblast showed how Russian forces now exerted less control over Andriivka and how Ukrainian forces had advanced on September 10 towards Kurdyumivka, south of Klishchiivka.
Russian military bloggers have commented on these purported gains on Telegram. They said that Ukrainian troops had almost taken control of Klishchiivka and that only a few hundred Russian soldiers were left there.
Among the milbloggers was the Telegram account of Roman Saponkov, who posted Russian units had left Klishchiivka, and possibly Andriivka, although this had not been confirmed.
Meanwhile, Roman Alekhine posted that there were no Russian forces left in Klishchiivka, despite holding it for a long time and that Ukrainian troops were directing their efforts to Andriivka.
"They burned a lot of military equipment and killed a lot of enemy infantry. Of course, we also have enough losses, but many times less than the enemy," the post read. The channel also noted how Russian troops were fighting amid personnel shortages, shell starvation and a lack of necessary modern equipment.
It comes as Kyiv media reported that the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Ukrainian Navy carried out a strike on Yevpatoria in occupied Crimea overnight Wednesday, allegedly destroying a modern S-400 Triumf, or Triumph, air defense system, worth $1.2 billion.
Media outlets reports that, in the first phase of the attack, SBU-operated drones hit the system's radars and antennae, and then two Neptune missiles launched by the Navy hit the S-400 launchers.
Yevpatoria residents reported powerful explosions including areas where Russian military units were stationed, according to The Kyiv Independent, an English-language Ukrainian online newspaper. Moscow said its air defenses had shot down 11 drones over the occupied peninsula. Newsweek has as yet been unable to verify these claims and others regarding the strikes.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's air force said on Thursday that it had shot down 17 of the 22 Shahed kamikaze drones launched by Russia overnight in the direction of the Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Sumy oblasts.
Newsweek has contacted the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email.
