Intense fighting is under way in southern and northeastern Ukraine as Kyiv claims that the first line of Russian defense in one sector has been broken. Russian forces, meanwhile, are reportedly piling pressure on other areas.
View From The Front Amid Ukrainian 'Breakthrough' Claims
Ukrainian firefighters deal with a grass fire near a frontline position in the Zaporizhzhya Oblast on September 3.
Senior Ukrainian military figures have claimed that Russia’s first and strongest line of defense has been breached in this southern region.
A storage shed peppered with holes after a strike on Russian-held territory in the Zaporizhzhya region. The photo was taken on September 3.
Ukrainian Brigadier General Oleksandr Tarnavskiy said in an interview published on September 2 that Kyiv's forces are "now between the first and second defensive lines" in southern Ukraine, adding that "everything is ahead of us."
A crew member of a Russian tank handling shells in the Donbas region of Ukraine on September 1.
Claims of a major breakthrough in southern Ukraine have been echoed by both Kyiv and the Pentagon, but details remain murky.
A Ukrainian soldier launches a drone from a position in the Donetsk region on September 4.
A spokesman for Ukraine's 46th Air Assault Brigade told the BBC on September 2 that "no one has yet managed to go beyond the first line" of the Russian defense.
A battle-scarred field between Ukrainian and Russian positions near Bakhmut on September 3.
Ukraine’s deputy defense minister, Hanna Malyar, said on September 4 that Ukrainian forces had made gains in the vicinity of this Russian-held city in recent days.
Ukrainian soldiers ride in a pickup truck near Bakhmut on September 3.
The Institute for the Study of War said on September 3 that recent geolocated footage shows Ukrainian troops have entered the village of Klishchiyivka, around 7 kilometers south of Bakhmut.
Soldiers of Ukraine's 3rd Separate Assault Brigade during a ceremony near Bakhmut on September 3.
The news of Kyiv's battlefield gains comes after reports of Western unease at the slow pace of the Ukrainian advance, with some analysts saying the months-old Ukrainian counteroffensive has effectively “stalled” in the face of Russian defenses.
A man attempts to douse a fire with water after a strike on the Russian-held village of Lidiyevka in the Donetsk region on August 31.
Kyiv has said it is advancing slowly to minimize losses.
A Ukrainian soldier rests in a trench near Bakhmut on September 3.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on September 2 that “we’ve all seen the criticism by anonymous officials out there, which frankly is not helpful” to Ukraine’s battlefield effort."