Russian forces go on offensive in Kupiansk direction, Kharkiv region - Defense Ministry
Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar says that the situation in the east has escalated - Russian troops have been actively advancing in the Kupiansk sector, Kharkiv region, for two days in a row
She wrote about this on Telegram.
Maliar noted that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are on the defensive in this area, there are fierce battles, and the position of the parties is changing dynamically several times a day.
In turn, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are gradually moving forward in the Bakhmut sector.
"On the southern flank near Bakhmut, there is a daily advance. On the northern flank, we are trying to hold our positions, and the enemy is attacking. In Bakhmut itself, we are shelling the enemy, and the enemy is shelling us," she wrote.
In the Avdiivka and Marinka sectors, the Russian forces continue their offensive, Ukrainian defenders are holding them back, and hot fighting continues without any change in positions.
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 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.
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.
On July 14, it was reported that the Defense Forces in the Melitopol direction had advanced 1,700 m to the south and southeast in a week.- News