Urozhayne grants access to Russia’s second defense line and future advancement – military expert Kovalenko

Military expert Oleksandr Kovalenko shared his opinions with Espreso TV.

"After Urozhayne, the way to Staromlynivka opens up. This area stands as a significant stronghold held by the Russian occupiers on their second line of defense. We can say that now the Ukrainian Defense Forces have direct access to the second line of defense of the Russians in this location. Next is the process of expanding the bridgehead, especially on the left flank," he said.

Kovalenko added that Urozhayne allows the Ukrainian Armed Forces to expand the bridgehead on the left flank and have access to another interesting settlement - the small village of Kermenchyk.

"It is not only a settlement on one of the roads, but there is a very important object there - a dominant height. Gaining control over it will allow us to have fire control over the entire range of our artillery. Urozhayne is indeed a very important achievement that will significantly change the situation in this area in the future and will lead to our advance and other intensive actions along the enemy's second line of defense," the expert summarized.

Ukrainian Armed Forces counteroffensive in the south: chronology

On the morning of June 12, Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had liberated 7 settlements and advanced 6.5 kilometers.

Also, Deputy Defense Minister of Ukraine Hanna Maliar reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces liberated Pyatykhatky, Zaporizhzhia region, and advanced up to 7 km in the Tavria direction.

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.

On July 5, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy established 10 military administrations in the Zaporizhzhia region and appointed their heads.

On July 13, the General Staff reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had some success in the areas of Novodanylivka - Shyroka Balka; Mala Tokmachka - Novopokrovka.

On July 27, the Ukrainian Armed Forces liberated the village of Staromayorske in Donetsk region.

On July 29, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar announced successes in the Berdiansk and Mariupol directions.

On July 31, it was reported that during the counteroffensive, the Ukrainian military liberated more than 204 square kilometers of territory in the south.

On August 1, Ukrainian Armed Forces serviceman Oleksandr Voitko said that there were battles west of Vuhledar for Pryiutne and Novodonetske settlements.

Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar announced on August 4 that the Ukrainian Defense Forces successfully penetrated the southern front's initial defense line and advanced towards the intermediate line.

On August 5, Brigadier General Dmytro Hereha, Commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Support Forces, said that in the occupied territories, Russian forces have set up a multi-echelon system of engineering barriers, which consists of several strips of 10 to 40 km each with a fairly high density. This causes difficulties for the Ukrainian Defense Forces in conducting offensives in the southern direction.

On August 10, the General Staff announced that the Ukrainian Defense Forces had succeeded near Urozhayne and southeast of Staromayorske.

On August 15, the spokesperson for the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Andriy Kovalyov, said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had succeeded in the direction of Urozhayne and were consolidating their positions.

On August 16, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar reported that the Ukrainian military had completely liberated Urozhayne, Donetsk region. Defense forces consolidate their positions.