Ukraine holds bridgehead on Dnipro's left bank, Russian forces save artillery shells - UK intelligence

This is stated in a report by the UK Defense Ministry.

Over the past week, both the Ukrainian and Russian armies have made minor gains in different parts of the frontline.

Invading Russian troops tried to advance in the area of Kreminna, while Ukrainian defenders concentrated their main efforts in the area of Bakhmut. According to UK intelligence, Russian forces there are unstable, but still holding on.

Experts note that in the south, Ukraine continues to advance on at least two fronts, but has hardly broken through the main Russian defenses. The Russian troops also continue to attempt localized offensives in the southern Donetsk region, particularly near Avdiivka, but they are not having much success there.

In particular, in the Kherson region, the Ukrainian Armed Forces hold a small bridgehead on the left bank of the Dnipro River near the destroyed Antonivka bridge. UK intelligence believes that this is an additional challenge for the Russian command, which is concerned about the vulnerability of its southwestern flank.

The UK Defense Ministry emphasizes that Russia has probably introduced a regime of normalized shelling in the southern part of the frontline in an attempt to preserve its critical ability to fire indirectly.

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.

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 15, The New York Times reported that the AFU had changed its counteroffensive tactics, focusing on attacking depleted Russian forces with artillery and long-range missiles rather than attacking minefields.

The Defense Ministry reported that as of July 17, since the beginning of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' counteroffensive in the Bakhmut sector, the military had liberated an area of more than 30 km². In the Melitopol and Berdiansk directions, almost 180 km² of Ukrainian land remains de-occupied.