Deputy defence minister tells Guardian that Ukrainian forces are making progress, with far fewer deaths than Russia
Russia-Ukraine war – latest news updates
The centre of the fighting in Ukraine has switched to the road to Mariupol, where the Ukrainian offensive is slowly pushing back Russian forces, and British Challenger tanks are ready to join battle, a minister in Kyiv has said.
Hanna Maliar, a deputy defence minister, said the most active fighting was no longer around Bakhmut, in the eastern Donetsk region, but in the south, and specifically in the direction of the two coastal cities of Berdiansk and Mariupol.