Ukraine may breakthrough in unexpected direction

He made the statement in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda.

According to the National Guard commander, any advance of the Ukrainian military is significant.

"Everyone remembers the operation in the Izyum sector and thinks that now will be the same. But no, that’s not how things work. For us, every meter is a result. We are advancing," he said.

Pivnenko emphasized that one day the Ukrainian Armed Forces will make a significant breakthrough that may come in an unexpected direction.

"You will see, the time will come when we will make a breakthrough in some direction. And it may not happen where some expect it to. We'll find a loophole and get in, and everything will be fine. And they [Russian troops] will lose a lot of our territories," the soldier said.

The National Guard commander also emphasized that Ukraine has found itself in a "not so good situation" because Russia, which is large in size, has many resources.

"But we know that we have no other way but to reach the borders of 1991. It will take time," Pivnenko stated.

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.