Number of Russian troops is disproportionate to danger they pose – Ukrainian commander

Dmytro Kukharchuk, commander of the 2nd Assault Battalion of the 3rd Detached Assault Brigade, said this on Espreso TV. 

The military are now in the Bakhmut sector.

"The number of the Russian forces is disproportionate to the danger they pose. In some cases, the number of enemies plays into our hands - the more Russians are in the air, the easier it is to find them and immediately destroy them en masse. Russian aviation does not fly behind the front lines. Sometimes we even laugh at their work," he said.

Kukharchuk emphasized that this is not the case with their artillery.

"It works well, accurately, and there are many different calibers. In addition, there are Lancets and operational and strategic drones. They can even be praised for their professionalism in terms of artillery and long-range strikes. As for the infantry, it cannot be said that they do not know how to fight. Sometimes infantry fight back and our soldiers get killed and wounded," the commander added.

He expressed his opinion on why the Ukrainian army is making progress.

"I don't think anyone can answer that. I assume that it is because Russian commanders are complete degenerates who do not know how to fight. The question here is also about motivation. Motivation and moral and psychological training are no less important than combat training. We already have people coming to us who are ready in this regard. I have talked to many prisoners and I have not yet met a single motivated one," Kukharchuk summarized.

What is known about the counteroffensive in Bakhmut

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

On July 6, the Ukrainian Armed Forces advanced and consolidated their positions in three areas - Bakhmut, Melitopol and Berdiansk - while the Ukrainian forces continued to hold the line in Kupyansk.

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  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 the same day, the Ukrainian military made tactically significant gains in the Bakhmut area. At the same time, they continued their counteroffensive on at least three other frontlines.

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.

However, on July 16, it became known that the situation in the east had escalated - the enemy had been actively advancing in the Kupyansk direction in Kharkiv region for two days in a row.

On July 19, Russia lost more than two companies of soldiers and 15 pieces of military equipment in the Tauride direction. According to the General Staff, the Russian army has lost a total of 530 soldiers, 6 tanks, and 33 UAVs over the course of the war in Ukraine.

On July 21, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces' counteroffensive was progressing slowly because it began later than planned. He noted that despite the difficulties, Ukraine was making progress. 

On July 23, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that the Defense Forces had recaptured half of the territories that Russia had occupied since the start of the full-scale invasion.

On July 24, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that the Russian army continues to focus its main efforts on the Kupyansk, Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and Mariinka directions, and heavy fighting continues. It is noted that 35 combat engagements took place over the past day.

As of July 24, 35 square kilometers of the area have been liberated since the beginning of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' counteroffensive in the Bakhmut sector.