Russia tries to regain lost positions near Pryiutne, Zaporizhzhia region, Ukrainian Defense Forces advance in 3 directions

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported this on July 20.

“The enemy tried but failed to regain the lost position north of Priyutne. They are still resisting strongly, moving their units and troops, and calling upon reserves,” as stated in the message.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military is making progress in the Bakhmut, Melitopol, and Berdyansk directions. They have achieved success in the Mala Tokmachka - Verbove and Novodanylivka - Robotyne areas in the Zaporizhzhia region, gaining ground at these milestones.

In the Bakhmut direction, Ukrainian troops are continuously launching offensive actions both north and south of the city of Bakhmut. The fighting is ongoing near the Kurdyumivka settlement.

The message also notes that “the occupiers are strongly resisting, using their backup forces, and experiencing significant losses in these confrontations.”

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 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 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.

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.

On July 14, Maliar announced that the Ukrainian Armed Forces were advancing on the southern flank of the Bakhmut direction.

However, on July 16, it was reported that the situation in the east has intensified – the enemy has been actively advancing in the Kupyansk direction in the Kharkiv region for two days in a row.

Ukrainian forces continue to conduct a counteroffensive in the Bakhmut, Melitopol and Berdyansk areas. In the course of hostilities, the occupiers were forced to retreat from their positions northeast of Orikhovo-Vasylivka.

Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Russia has lost 240,010 troops in the war in Ukraine.

The enemy intensified its main efforts in five directions of the front. During the last day, about 30 combat clashes took place in these areas.