Ukraine needs to break through Russia's first and second defense lines to advance quickly on southern front - unit commander in Ukrainian army

He said this on Espreso TV.

"The question here is not so much about the kilometers of advance, but about the destruction of the defense forces of the invading Russian forces that are standing and holding these lines. Because we are now working on destroying their advanced positions, their artillery and equipment that informs the first and second lines of defense, and this is the most difficult stage," he commented.

Linko added that sooner or later the Ukrainian Armed Forces will break through the first and second lines of defense and then everything will be much easier, "there are already dozens of kilometers."

"Every day the Russians suffer huge losses there, they are constantly rolling back. We are slowly squeezing them out, but this is the situation now, because these are fortified positions that have been there for more than a year," emphasized the commander of the Stuhna unit.

What is known about the Ukrainian counteroffensive

On June 4, the Ukrainian Armed Forces launched a counteroffensive on the southern frontline, continuing a series of offensives near Bakhmut and in Belgorod 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 Ukrainian military liberated about 38 square kilometers. 

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. On the same day it was reported that the Ukrainian military had achieved tactically significant gains in the area of Bakhmut. At the same time, Ukrainian forces continued their counteroffensive in at least three other areas of the front.

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.