Russia’s war in Ukraine

The Ukrainian military says it has liberated 169 square kilometers of territory in the south since the beginning of the offensive in mid-May, an area roughly the size of the city of Odesa.

The official Military Media Center said that in the past week Ukrainian forces had advanced by more than one kilometer “as a result of the offensive in the Melitopol and Berdiansk directions.”

It said that 10 square kilometers of Ukrainian land have been liberated in the last week.

The Ukrainian General Staff said Monday that troops “continue to conduct offensive operations in the Melitopol and Berdiansk directions, entrenching themselves on the achieved lines, inflicting artillery fire, and carrying out counter-battery measures.”

Russian forces continue assault operations at several points along the Donetsk front lines, according to the Ukrainian General Staff, with 30 combat engagements over the last day. There has been little change in frontline positions along the eastern front lines.

The General Staff said that Ukrainian forces had resisted heavy fire by Russian aircraft and artillery in the Bakhmut area, and had also held back Russian assault operations near Avdiivka and Mariinka.

The Military Media Center said that 24 square kilometers had been liberated in the Bakhmut sector in recent operations, with 4 square kilometers of territory liberated in the past week.

There have been incremental Ukrainian advances south of Bakhmut around the village of Klishchiivka. 

“The enemy is resisting, moving units and troops, actively using its reserves. Heavy fighting continues,” the center said.

The Institute for the Study of War said in its latest analysis of the battlefield that “the current pace of the Ukrainian counteroffensive is reflective of a deliberate effort to conserve Ukrainian combat power and attrit Russian manpower and equipment at the cost of slower territorial advances.”

Ukrainian military officials have said that Russia is capable of bringing in substantial reserve units to compensate for losses.