Ukraine’s defense forces advance on flanks around Bakhmut and in South, Defense Ministry says

This was announced by Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Maliar during the telethon.

“We are making progress on the southern side near Bakhmut, while the fighting continues on the northern side. The enemy is facing difficulties moving in Bakhmut and cannot escape. We are making progress in the south, and more details will be provided later,” Maliar stated. 

Simultaneously, Maliar mentioned that the enemy is attempting to advance in the Lyman, Avdiivka, and Marinka directions.

"It's intense there, but the enemy is unable to make any advancements," Maliar stated.

She added that the Defense Forces are actively destroying the enemy's offensive capabilities in all directions.

"We have destroyed their control points, personnel, equipment, and weapons. These were all things planned to be used against us, but their plans will no longer work," she concluded. 

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 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 June 26, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar also said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had de-occupied the village of Rivnopil, Donetsk region. 

British Defence Minister Ben Wallace stated that Ukraine has already liberated more territory as part of the summer counteroffensive campaign than Russia had captured during the entire winter offensive.

But Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov stated that the already liberated settlements were not the "main event" but rather the prelude to a major counteroffensive.

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.