Bakhmut

President Volodymyr Zelensky said this week that Kyiv would retake the Bakhmut following the capture last week of Andriivka and Klishchiivka to the south.

The Ukrainian General Staff on Friday also reported "partial success" near Klishchiivka, also south of Bakhmut, which Russia has neither confirmed nor denied.

"In the course of assault operations, [Ukrainian troops] seized Andriivka in Donetsk region," the General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces said in a morning report.

Heavy fighting swept the villages around Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, captured in May by Russian forces after months of battles.

"Bravery conquers fear," ran one of the campaign's slogans. "Everyone has fears in a war. I do too," a Ukrainian soldier who fought in Bakhmut was quoted as saying.

Zelensky said Russian drone attacks this week, including an assault on shipping infrastructure in the Danube port of Izmail, underscored the need for improved anti-aircraft defenses.

The North Korean weapons were shown by Ukrainian troops operating Soviet-era Grad multiple-launch rocket systems near the destroyed eastern city of Bakhmut.

Ukrainian producers have sharply increased domestic drone production and more than 10,000 drone operators have been already trained with another 10,000 currently receiving training, Fedorov said.

Russian accounts said its forces had repelled Ukrainian attacks in eastern Donetsk region, including around Bakhmut.

Russian accounts from the front line on Tuesday spoke of clashes but referred to a successful defense of areas near Bakhmut.