When we capture trenches in Zaporizhzhia sector, Russian soldiers appear and battles begin – Legion of Freedom fighter Denysov

He said this on the air of the Espreso TV channel.

"There is an advance of the Defence Forces in certain areas of the Zaporizhzhia sector. These may be individual trenches and positions, but the advance comes at a very high price. It happens that our guys occupy trenches, and then Russian forces come out of the ground and start a small arms battle. In this area, there are Russian army personnel with combat experience," Denysov explained.

According to the soldier, the Russian enemy has built a multi-layered defence in the Zaporizhzhia sector.

"Russian forces have created various and sophisticated fortifications. They have laid a lot of minefields and continue to mine. The Russian forces are relying heavily on minefields to stop the advance of the Ukrainian Armed Forces," Denysov stressed.

What is known about the Ukrainian counter-offensive

On 4 June, the Ukrainian Armed Forces launched a counter-offensive on the southern front, continuing a series of offensives near Bakhmut.

On 11 June, the Ukrainian Armed Forces announced the liberation of Blahodatne, Neskuchne and Makarivka, near the border of Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions. On the morning of 12 June, Deputy Minister of Defence Hanna Maliar reported that the national flag was flying again over Storozhove in the Donetsk region.

On June 24, the Ukrainian Defence Forces officially confirmed the liberation of the territories near Krasnohorivka in Donetsk region, which had been under occupant control since 2014.

On June 26, Hanna Maliar reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have advanced between 1 and 2 km on the eastern frontline in the past week. During the offensive in the south, the Armed Forces liberated 130 square kilometres. On the same day, the Defence Forces regained control of the village of Rivne in Donetsk region.

British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said that Ukraine had already liberated more territory in the summer counter-offensive than Russia had seized in the entire winter offensive.

Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said that the settlements already liberated by the Ukrainian Armed Forces were not the "main event" - they were just the introduction to a major counter-offensive