Russia steps up aerial strikes on Ukraine, killing at least 6 amid Kyiv counteroffensive

The official described the Ukrainian attacks as methodical and said that, broadly speaking, “Russian forces have put up a good defense.”

Russian forces fired cruise missiles at the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa and shelled the eastern Donetsk region early Wednesday, killing at least six people and damaging dozens of homes, regional Ukrainian officials said.

Russian forces have recently stepped up aerial strikes in their nearly 16-month war, a Ukrainian military spokesman said. The country's armed forces, meanwhile, have reported limited gains in the early stages of a counteroffensive to take back the nearly one-fifth of Ukraine's territory that is under Russian control.

The grinding Ukrainian advance is pressing slowly ahead, Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said Wednesday. Western analysts and military officials say the effort to dislodge entrenched, powerfully armed and large numbers of Russian troops could take years.

Ukrainian troops have advanced 200-500 meters (650-1,600 feet) at various sections of the front line around the Donetsk city of Bakhmut and 300-350 meters (980-1,150 feet) in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, Maliar claimed. Ukrainian forces have managed to make gains despite the Russian edge in artillery and air power, she said.

It was not possible to verify the battlefield claims.

Ukrainian forces can expect to make slow progress in what will be a “hugely difficult” fight as the counteroffensive gains traction, according to a Western official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence.

“Intense fighting is now ongoing in nearly all sectors of the front,” the official said “This is much more than probing. These are full-scale movements of armor and heavy equipment into the Russian security zone.”