The UK’s Ministry of Defence on Sunday provided another update on the evolving situation in war-torn Ukraine, saying that Ukrainian forces had successfully managed to repel several Russian attacks in the hotly contested Donbas region in the east of the country.

“Ukraine has repelled numerous Russian assaults along the line of contact in the Donbas this week,” the update said.

The UK defence ministry added that Russia had made “some territorial gains,” contradicting its own report a day earlier claiming that Russian forces had made no major gains in the Donbas.

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However, the update explained that Russia’s gains have come at a “significant cost,” courtesy of stiff Ukrainian resistance “across all axes.”

“Poor Russian morale and limited time to reconstitute, re-equip and reorganise forces from prior offensives are likely hindering Russian combat effectiveness,” Sunday’s update concluded.

Over the past few days, there have been several reports of heavy fighting in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of the Donbas, while Russian forces have also intensified their attacks on the southern Ukrainian cities of Mariupol and Odessa that are key to the control of the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, respectively.

However, on Friday, the UK defence ministry, citing military intelligence, said that Russia had made no significant gains due to stiff Ukrainian resistance and frequent counter-attacks.

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On the same day, Russia announced that it was aiming to achieve “full control” of the eastern Donbas region as well as southern Ukraine.

The confirmation of Vladimir Putin‘s primary objective, which according to CNN came from a top Russian military official, marked for the first time an admission by Moscow that it was looking to establish a land corridor through Ukraine that would allow access to the Crimean peninsula, which Russia had annexed eight years back in 2014.

Putin, reportedly frustrated by the Russian military’s inability to establish a foothold in Ukraine, has also appointed a new military commander, Aleksandr Dvornikov, to expedite a victory in the eastern European country.