In an interview with USA Today, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the Ukrainian offensive on the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia shows the first signs of success.
He is one of the first Western high-ranking officials to comment on the offensive actions of the Defense Forces of Ukraine.
Stoltenberg noted that it was necessary to be ready for a "bloody and heavy" offensive, because the Russian invaders had built strong defense lines. It is too early to predict the outcome of the Ukrainian offensive.
At the same time, the head of the Alliance believes that the first battles may indicate that the money and weapons invested in the Ukrainian army are paying off.
- The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported that over the past week, Ukrainian fighters liberated seven settlements: Lobkove, Levadne, Novodarivka, Neskuchne, Storozheve, Makarivka, Blagodatne.