The chairman of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), Denis Pushilin, admitted Monday that the situation on the front line in eastern Ukraine is "difficult" given the counteroffensive carried out by Ukrainian forces.
Pushilin's words, who assured that the Russian forces still control the area, come after the Ukrainian Armed Forces claimed to have seized part of the territory during the last days of clashes, especially in the area of Kharkov, in the northeast of the country.
"The situation remains difficult. The adversary is trying to damage civilian and vital infrastructure," he said in statements to Rossiya 24 television channel. Thus, he has alluded to a "massive" shelling by the Ukrainian forces.
In this sense, he referred to the attacks perpetrated against the locality of Liman, in the easternmost area. However, he stated that despite the difficulties, the Russian side has the situation "under control". He also indicated that they have managed to advance in "certain areas" although he did not list them.
The Ukrainian army had initially announced a counteroffensive in the south before advancing towards the Kharkov region over the weekend, which forced the Russian military to abandon other positions.
Earlier on Monday, Russian forces said they had shelled some areas under Ukrainian control near Kharkov, in the Kupiansk and Izium sectors, seized by Ukrainian forces in recent days.