Ukraine has liberated over 40,000 square kilometers of territory during full-scale war with Russia

This was reported by the Center for Strategic Communications of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

"Over 40,000 square kilometers of Ukraine have been liberated by the Defense Forces since February 24, 2022," the statement said.

This territory is larger than Moldova, slightly smaller than two Israeli states and about 15 cities such as Moscow.

Ukraine’s counteroffensive

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

On June 11, the Ukrainian Armed Forces announced the liberation of Blahodatne, Neskuchne, and Makarivka settlements, near the border of Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions. On the morning of June 12, Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said that the Ukrainian state flag was raised again over Storozhove, Donetsk region.

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 26, Hanna Maliar reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have advanced 1 to 2 kilometers on the eastern frontline in the past week. During the offensive in the southern direction, the Ukrainian Armed Forces liberated 130 square kilometers. On the same day, the Ukrainian Armed Forces had de-occupied the village of Rivnopil, Donetsk region. 

British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said that Ukraine has already liberated more territory as part of its summer counteroffensive than Russia captured during the entire winter offensive.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday, July 23, that the Ukrainian Defense Forces have recaptured half of the territory that Russia has occupied since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.

On July 25, the Ukrainian Defense Forces drove the Russians out of their positions near Andriivka in the Bakhmut direction, and in the Staromayorske area, they succeeded and are consolidating their positions. The Ukrainian Armed Forces restrained the Russian offensive near Marinka and repelled enemy attacks in other areas.

On July 26, the General Staff reported that the Defense Forces continued to advance in three directions. Instead, the Russian occupiers are trying to regain the lost position near Robotyno in Zaporizhzhia region. Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Maliar said that the Defense Forces continue to successfully conduct offensive actions on the southern flank around Bakhmut. Fierce fighting continues in the area of Klishchiiivka, Kurdyumivka and Andriivka.

US officials said on July 26 that Ukraine told them that the army is now engaged in a major counteroffensive, moving more troops and equipment to the most western of the three fronts, near Zaporizhzhia. The Institute for the Study of War reported that on July 26, the Ukrainian Armed Forces launched a mechanized counteroffensive operation in Zaporizhzhia region and may have broken through enemy defensive positions near Orikhiv.

On July 27, the Ukrainian Armed Forces repelled several enemy attacks in the Kupyansk sector without losing ground, and in the Bakhmut sector our soldiers gradually moved forward. The fighting was quite fierce. The enemy was firing intensively. The General Staff reported that the Defense Forces were conducting an offensive at the Melitopol and Berdiansk directions.

On the same day, it became known that Ukrainian soldiers had liberated the village of Staromayorske in Donetsk region.

On July 31, Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Maliar reported that during the counteroffensive, the Ukrainian military liberated over 204 square kilometers of territory in southern Ukraine, and about 37 square kilometers in the Bakhmut direction.

On August 2, the Ukrainian Defense Forces drove Russian troops from their positions near Avdiivka, Donetsk region. The Ukrainian Armed Forces hold back the Russian offensive in the Kupyansk and Lyman directions.

Analysts at The New York Times reported that the Russian forces are overstretched, experiencing problems with logistics, supplies, personnel and weapons, and it is becoming apparent that they are beginning to retreat.

On August 3, British intelligence named vegetation on the battlefields of southern Ukraine as one of the factors slowing down the Ukrainian army's counteroffensive.

Subsequently, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said that the Defense Forces had already broken through the first line of defense in some places and were now moving to the intermediate line.

Brigadier General Dmytro Hereha, Commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Support Forces, said that in the occupied territories, Russian forces have set up a multi-echelon system of engineering barriers, which consists of several strips of 10 to 40 km each with a fairly high density. This causes difficulties for the Ukrainian Defense Forces in conducting offensives in the southern direction.

On August 5, 30 clashes took place between the Ukrainian Defense Forces and Russian troops at the front, and Russia lost 590 soldiers, 5 tanks, and a MLRS. 

On August 6, Budanov assessed the Ukrainian Armed Forces' counteroffensive: the military's advance in the Bakhmut direction is slightly faster than in the south.