Ukraine carried out counteroffensive operations in “at least four areas” on June 10 – ISW

Ukrainian forces conducted counteroffensive operations in at least four areas of the front on June 10. 

• Russian sources reported Ukrainian activity in Luhansk Oblast near Bilohorivka.
• Ukrainian Eastern Group of Forces Spokesperson Colonel Serhiy Cherevaty noted that Ukrainian forces advanced up to 1,400m in unspecified areas of the Bakhmut front, and Russian milbloggers reported Ukrainian advances northwest and northeast of Bakhmut.
• The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) and other Russian sources claimed that Ukrainian troops conducted localized attacks in the Donetsk-Zaporizhzhia Oblast border area, particularly in the Velyka Novosilka area.
• Geolocated footage posted on June 10 additionally indicates that Ukrainian forces in western Zaporizhzhia Oblast made localized gains during counterattacks southwest and southeast of Orikhiv, and Russian milbloggers continued to claim that Russian forces in this area are successfully defending against attempted Ukrainian advances (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21).

Ukrainian forces are currently attempting an extraordinarily difficult tactical operation – a frontal assault against prepared defensive positions, further complicated by a lack of air superiority – and these initial assaults should not be extrapolated to predict all Ukrainian operations.  Ukrainian forces are unsurprisingly taking casualties in initial attacks against some of the best-prepared Russian forces in Ukraine. However, initial attacks – and particularly selected footage that Russian sources are intentionally disseminating and highlighting – are not representative of all Ukrainian operations. The Russian military remains dangerous and Ukrainian forces certainly face a hard fight, but Ukraine has not yet committed the vast majority of its counteroffensive forces and Russian defenses are not uniformly strong along all sectors of the front line. Read also:

• “Counteroffensive and defensive actions are taking place,” Zelenskyy says
• Ukrainians advanced up to 1,4 km near Bakhmut on 9 June – Ukrainian military
• Ukraine advances in east, south, Russian airforce “unusually active” – UK intel
• Ukrainian offensive operations continued in at least four front areas – ISW