Ukraine-Russia war – live: Putin’s troops ‘suffer new losses near Bakhmut’ as counteroffensive continues

Ukrainian troops have advanced by more than a kilometre in the last day against Russian forces near the eastern city of Bakhmut, a military spokesperson said on Friday. His comments were the latest by Kyiv signalling that the counteroffensive it launched in early June is gradually making progress although Russian accounts of fighting in the Bakhmut sector differ from Ukraine’s. “The defence forces continue to hold the initiative there, putting pressure on the enemy, conducting assault operations, advancing along the northern and southern flanks,” Serhiy Cherevatyi told Ukrainian television. “In particular, over the past day, they have advanced more than one kilometre (0.62 mile).” Elsewhere, the president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko said there were “no war heroes” following Wagner’s attempted coup in Moscow after Vladimir Putin was hailed a hero by Russian state TV. Mr Lukashenko, ally to the president, told the BBC: “I think that no one came out of that situation a hero. “Not Prigozhin, not Putin, not Lukashenko. There were no heroes. And the lesson from this? If we create armed groups like this, we need to keep an eye on them and pay serious attention to them.” Read More Inside Vladimir Putin’s luxury armoured train – that has its own beauty salon Wigs, gold bars and pictures of severed heads: Inside Wagner boss’s lavish Russian mansion Why the US is willing to send Ukraine cluster munitions now How many casualties has Russia suffered in Ukraine?