Russia expended half a million rounds of ammunition in eastern Ukraine last week as Moscow’s forces launched 9,000 attacks in the region, Kyiv said on Monday.
Despite the pressure, Ukraine’s forces continued to claw back territory from Russian control around the city of Bakhmut, the country’s deputy defence minister said.
“Almost half a million rounds of ammunition were spent by the enemy in the East last week alone,” Hanna Maliar said.
“In such continuous artillery fire, our fighters continued offensive actions in the Bakhmut direction.”
The Donetsk region city of Bakhmut, which fell into Russian hands earlier this year, is one of the main areas of assault for Ukraine’s counter-offensive.
Last week, Major-General Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, said Kyiv’s forces were advancing faster around the eastern city than in the south of the country, where troops are pushing towards the Sea of Azov.
He said the heavily-fortified frontlines in Zaporizhzhia and southern Donetsk had made it difficult for Ukraine to breach Russian defences.