As part of its broader counter-offensive, Ukraine has gained impetus in its assaults around Bakhmut in Donetsk region and have made progress on both the northern and southern flanks of the town, the UK Ministry of Defense said with reference to intelligence data on Monday.

"There has been little evidence that Russia maintains any significant ground forces operational level reserves which could be used to reinforce against the multiple threats it is now facing in widely separated sectors, from Bakhmut to the eastern bank of the Dnipro River, over 200 km away," it said on Twitter.