Ukraine announced it had gained an additional 14 square kilometers of territory in the east and south, bringing the area recaptured after more than a month of counter-offensive to nearly 200 square kilometers.
"We have regained more than 10 square kilometers in the south of the country over the past week, and another 4 square kilometers in the Bakhmut direction," Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman Andriy Kovalyov said today.
Spokesman Kovalyov added that “fierce battles” were taking place near the city of Bakhmut. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar later said that troops had retaken several key heights around Bakhmut, but did not provide specifics.
Ukrainian armored vehicles on the road to Bakhmut on July 1. Photo: AFP
Ukrainian officials say their forces have recaptured several villages and about 193 square kilometers of territory since launching a counteroffensive in early June. The pace of Ukraine’s advance is much slower than during last fall’s lightning offensive, when Kiev recaptured thousands of square kilometers of territory in just two weeks.
The Russian Defense Ministry has not commented on the information.
General Ramzan Kadyrov, leader of Russia's Chechen Republic, said earlier that his Akhmat special forces had reached the front line in Bakhmut. "The situation in the Artemovsk (Bakhmut) direction is complicated. This demonstrates the confidence of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces in the high combat capabilities of the unit," he said.
General Kadyrov was also informed by commander Apti Alaudinov about the situation in the village of Kleshcheevka near Bakhmut, where Ukraine announced on July 7 that it had achieved "partial success". "Russian forces are taking care of the enemy to the teeth. Regarding Kleshcheevka, Alaudinov sarcastically said that Ukraine and NATO are fighting more on the Internet than on the ground," the leader of the Chechen Republic said.
Ukraine has launched several NATO-trained brigades equipped with Western weapons into a counter-offensive that began in early June. Kiev has repeatedly stressed that the counter-offensive has been "partially successful" and that its troops are advancing every day.
However, the Ukrainian army suffered heavy losses in troops and modern vehicles provided by the West. Kiev's two NATO-standard brigades lost nearly 20% of their Bradley fighting vehicles, 20% of their Leopard 2A6 tanks and 50% of their Leopard 2R vehicles in just one hour of fighting on June 8.
The situation on the Russia - Ukraine battlefield. Graphics: WP
Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley on June 30 assessed that Ukraine's slow progress "is part of the nature of war". "I said this is going to take 6-10 weeks, very difficult, very long and extremely bloody. They are having to overcome very complex minefields. War in theory is very different from reality," he commented.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted on July 5 that the counteroffensive was stalling against Russia's fortified defenses, then admitted that Kiev would find it difficult to deal with Moscow without long-range weapons and that their aid depended on Washington's decision.
Vu Anh (According to AFP )
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