‘Fortress city’ of Bakhmut still protects entire unoccupied Donbas – local official

Mykola Dovbnia, a deputy of the Druzhkivka City Council, said this on Espreso TV. 

"The fight is mainly taking place near Bakhmut, and it is a fortress. As of now, Bakhmut has fulfilled the function of protecting the entire unoccupied Donbas - Druzhkivka, Kramatorsk, Sloviansk, Kostiantynivka. Why did this happen? Because Chasiv Yar, the peak from which all the shelling comes, has held out. Of course, as soon as we surround Bakhmut and everything is withdrawn, we will move on to restore and start building. I am sure we will start building," Dovbnia said.

Ukraine's counteroffensive

On June 4, the Ukrainian Armed Forces launched a counteroffensive on the southern frontline, continuing a series of offensives near Bakhmut and in other directions.

On June 24, the Ukrainian Defense Forces officially confirmed the liberation of the territories near Krasnohorivka in the Donetsk region, which had been under occupation since 2014.

On June 24, the eastern grouping of Ukrainian troops launched an offensive in several other areas simultaneously.

On the morning of July 3, Hanna Maliar reported that the Defense Forces advanced in the southern and eastern directions. Over the past week, the Ukrainian military liberated about 38 square kilometers. The Armed Forces of Ukraine are advancing on the flanks and effectively destroying the Russians in the Bakhmut direction, but the situation is intense.

On July 4, it was reported that Ukrainian military forces were advancing on the southern flank around Bakhmut in Donetsk region and in the south.

On July 5, Captain Valeriy Shershen, a spokesman for the joint press center of the Tavria Defense Forces, said that the Ukrainian servicemen in the south were holding their positions, conducting mine clearance, regrouping and preparing for further offensive actions.

On Wednesday, July 5, the General Staff has reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are making progress near Klishchiivka in the Bakhmut sector, and Ukrainian soldiers are now consolidating their positions.

On the morning of July 5, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that the Ukrainian Defence Forces were continuing their offensive in the Melitopol and Berdiansk directions, consolidating their positions, inflicting artillery fire on the identified enemy targets, and carrying out counter-battery operations.

On July 7, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar reported that the Defense Forces were advancing on the flanks of Bakhmut and grinding the enemy to a halt in the south, with the ratio of Russian army losses being more than five times higher.

Also on Saturday, July 8, it was reported that the Ukrainian military had achieved tactically significant gains in the area of Bakhmut. At the same time, Ukrainian forces continued their counteroffensive in at least three other areas of the front.

On July 9, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander of the Land Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said that Ukrainian troops continue to advance in the Bakhmut direction, and that Russian forces are getting trapped in some places.

Later, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said that the Chechen special forces Akhmat had been redeployed to the Bakhmut direction: the Kadyrov soldiers were allegedly in Klishchiivka.

On July 10, the commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, emphasized that Bakhmut was under the fire control of the Defense Forces. The General Staff emphasized that since the beginning of the counteroffensive, the Ukrainian Armed Forces had liberated 169 km² of Ukrainian land in the Melitopol and Berdiansk directions, an area commensurate with the size of Odesa. In the Bakhmut sector, the Defense Forces have recovered 24 km² of Ukrainian territory.

On July 12, the General Staff reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had hit the Duna hotel in Berdiansk, as previously reported. Russians were taking away the bodies of the killed soldiers by truck. Ukrainian aviation launched 6 strikes on the Russian forces' military positions and 2 on enemy air defense systems. Over the course of the day, missile and artillery units destroyed 1 control center, 16 artillery pieces at firing positions, 4 anti-aircraft missile systems and 2 enemy electronic warfare stations.

According to the General Staff on July 13, the Ukrainian Defense Forces continue to conduct offensive operations on three frontlines - Bakhmut, Melitopol, and Berdiansk. At the same time, the Russian army is using reserves and moving its troops.