Ukrainian Defense Forces liberate almost 38 km2 in eastern and southern Ukraine in one week 

Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister, Hanna Maliar, reported the information on July 3.

"Both offensive and defensive actions continue in the east. We are advancing in the Bakhmut direction, while the enemy continues to attack in the Lyman, Avdiivka and Marinka directions. The enemy is trying to push our troops out of their positions, but is being rebuffed. Heavy fighting is ongoing there," the statement said.

Maliar noted that last week, as a result of the improved operational situation and the alignment of the front line, the liberated area increased by 9 km2 .

However, the number of enemy attacks in the east doubled over the week: 

• 6,457 attacks the week before last;

• 11,753 attacks last week. 

In the southern direction, Ukrainian troops launch offensives in the Melitopol and Berdiansk directions, in particular in Novodarivka, Pryiutne; Novodanylivka, Robotyne; Novosilka, Staromaiorske.

According to Maliar, the Ukrainian Armed Forces liberated 28.4 km2  in southern Ukraine last week. The total area liberated in the south is 158.4 km2 .

Russia has opened another offensive direction on the eastern front

According to Maliar, just in the last few days, at the end of the week, Russian troops actually opened another offensive direction in the Svatove town area.

"The fiercest battles took place in the area of Serebryanka forestry. The enemy is trying to break through to get to Lyman and Nevske, Dibrovy and Bilohorivka are actually engulfed in fighting," noted the deputy.

She also added that Russian troops are failing to execute its plans, just like in Marinka and Avdiivka.

Russia’s losses in soldiers, equipment and captured over the week

According to Maliar, the results for the past week are just as good as the week before.

The Ukrainian defense forces struck:

• 94 Russian concentration points
• 22 anti-aircraft missile systems
• 7 control points
• 44 people were captured
• 31 of 35 Shahed drones were destroyed
• 5 electronic warfare stations
• about 19 ammunition depots

"This suggests that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are not only advancing, but are

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 the same day, the Ukrainian Armed Forces 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.

Experts at the Institute for the Study of War believe that the Russian military is likely to deploy additional forces from other areas near Bakhmut in response to Ukrainian offensives in the area.