Ukraine's armed forces regain control of north-eastern town of Trostyanets, confirms US

As Russia's war against Kyiv entered day 34, Ukrainian Armed Forces have regained control of northeastern suburban town of Trostyanets from Russian occupiers, a senior US Defence official informed. The official added that Ukrainian troops tried to regain control of the town in the south of Sumy, Russian forces remained around in a "defensive posture". However, he could not confirm other areas that were retaken by Ukrainians, he said, "they have also continued to make progress in that regard," as quoted by ABC.

The development follows Russian troops moving into a defensive position in the north of Kyiv, the senior Pentagon official said last Friday. The invading troops repositioned as they wanted to focus on operations in Donbass in East Ukraine. According to reports, Russian troops around Kyiv have ceased forward movements into the heart of the capital city. Nevertheless, they continue to deploy long-range missiles. Russia has reportedly fired some 1,370 missiles into Ukraine since the war began on February 24. As of Monday, Russian troops remained some 15-20 miles north/northwest of Kyiv and about 35 miles east.

"Static situation on the ground there, except for the fact that we continue to see Ukrainians defend the city and try to push Russians back as well," said the official, as quoted by ABC.

The southern strategic city of Kherson, which was seized by Russian troops during the early days of fighting, still remains a "contested territory." However, Russian occupiers no long have the entire area under control after having retrieved from certain points. Meanwhile, Russian forces have made "incremental progress" towards eastern Ukraine aimed at what Moscow calls it "liberation" of Donbass. "We are not exactly sure what is behind this reprioritisation. All I can tell you is what we are seeing," the senior US defence official said.

5,000 people killed in war

Meanwhile, Russians have continued to pound missile attacks and arbitrary shelling on the strategic port city of Mariupol. At 5,000 people have been reportedly killed in the burgeoning war that began on February 24. "We continue to see Mariupol getting slammed by long-range fires," the US defence official said.

"The Ukrainians are slugging it out in Mariupol and they are keeping the Russians at bay there so far," the official added.

Relentless bombings have left the strategic port city without sufficient food supplies, a tattered communication system, lack of water and electricity supply. In the latest update released on Twitter, the UK Defence Ministry informed that Russian armed forces continue to carry out the offensive on Mariupol with heavy shelling of the city. In addition, healthcare services have also been hit after Russian troops struck a maternity hospital and other key centres in the besieged city. The desperate situation in the city also emerged through images and videos that surfaced on the internet. Unclaimed dead bodies lay on the streets covered in a tarp. Mortuary workers in the past week were forced to dig up mass graves to bury the mutilated corpses killed in the Russian invasion. "Russia still poses a significant threat to the city through their strike capability," the UK Defence Ministry informed in the latest update.

(Image: AP)