Sky News journalist’s eyewitness report from mass burial site; Kyiv ‘has more tanks than in February’ | Ukraine war latest

Ukrainian forces are consolidating their gains following “significant” advances in the north east, the US Pentagon says.

Russian forces, on the other hand, are trying to shore up their defences and are being pushed back.

Pentagon press secretary, Air Force brigadier general Pat Ryder was asked about the latest battlefield situation by reporters on Friday.

He said: “In the north, what we assess is that the Ukrainians are consolidating their gains after taking back significant territory and that the Russians are attempting to shore up their defensive lines after having been pushed back.

“In the south, the Ukrainians continue to make what we would assess is deliberate, calculated forward movements as the Russians continue to try to hold that line.”

Asked about the timeline of the war going forward, he said he did not want to speculate but added that he believes it will “continue to be a tough fight”.

He added: “But we do anticipate that this will continue to be a very tough fight and the only thing that could shorten it would be is if the Russians decided to do the right thing and withdraw their occupying forces from Ukraine.”