Ukrainian intelligence chief assesses Armed Forces' counteroffensive 

This was stated by the chief of Ukrainian Intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, in an interview with the Bulgarian TV channel bTV.

"It's not easy, I won't hide that fact, but it's quite understandable because Russia has built strong, fixed defensive posts filled with concrete during this time. The crucial part is that the attack is going on and doesn’t stop," he said.

Budanov mentioned that the Defense Forces' offensive is advancing a bit faster in the Bakhmut direction of the front compared to the southern direction.

When asked if Ukraine will be able to hold onto the territory they have already taken back, he emphasized, "Yes, we can, and we will keep moving forward."

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 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, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar also said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had de-occupied the village of Rivnopil, Donetsk region. It is located in the Volnovakha district of the Donetsk region. The Russian army occupied the village in March 2022.

• US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday, July 23, that the 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 Robotyne 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.  

• 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, it was reported that during the counteroffensive, the Ukrainian military liberated more than 204 square kilometers of territory in the south, and another 37 square kilometers in the Bakhmut direction.

• On August 2, the Defense Forces pushed the Russian occupiers out of positions near Avdiivka in Donetsk region. They are still holding back the Russian offensive in the Kupyansk and Lyman directions.

• According to analysts at The New York Times, the Russians are stretched too thin and facing problems with their logistics, supply, personnel, and weapons. They seem to be starting to retreat.

• On August 3, British intelligence pointed out that vegetation on the battlefields of southern Ukraine is one of the factors slowing down the Armed Forces' counteroffensive.

• Deputy Minister of Defense, Hanna Malyar, mentioned that in some places, the Defense Forces have already broken through the first line of defense and moved to the intermediate line.

• In the occupied territories, the Russians have set up a multi-layer system of engineering barriers. This consists of several strips, each 10 to 40 km long, with a high density of defenses. This makes it difficult for the Defense Forces to conduct offensive operations in the southern direction.

• On August 5, there were 30 clashes between the Defense Forces of Ukraine and the Russian army at the front. The Russians lost 590 soldiers, 5 tanks, and a MLRS system.