UKR Def Min Reznikov: "We Are Buying Time For Certain Planned Actions"

Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov has told reporters that the Ukrainian military has advanced on Russian positions around the strategically important town of Bakhmut revealing that Kyiv is "...buying time for certain planned actions."

• Additional comments, per Reuters: "Fierce battles raged throughout day in Bakhmut's southern outskirts, Russian forces went back on the offensive."
• "Kyiv forces control southwestern part of Bakhmut... Ukrainian forces advanced 1km in some places."
• Reznikov's comments come as Ukraine prepares for a counter-attack designed to liberate occupied territory. It is unclear what form the counteroffensive will take with top Ukrainian officials giving mixed messages.
• CNN reports today: "The signs have gathered in pace over the past month, and are the opening traces of the “shaping operations” that a senior US official told CNN began last week. Yet officially, Ukraine’s counteroffensive has yet to start."
• Richard Kemp at the Telegraph writes that on Monday a Russian missile attack on Kyiv, the largest since the war began, failed to achieve any strategic goals.
• Kemp: "Ukraine's combined air defence forces... seemingly knocked every Russian missile out of the sky," causing "minimal physical damage."