On 7 July, Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar reported that Ukrainian troops have advanced up to one kilometer in some areas south of Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, while the frontline on the sector's northern flank did not see changes.
"In Bakhmut itself, the enemy is virtually trapped. Our troops have made it as difficult as possible for the enemy to move and make it impossible for them to leave. Shelling continues on both sides," she added.
Maliar noted that Russian troops continued unsuccessful assault attempts in Ukraine's east, in the directions of Avdiivka, Mariinka, Lyman (Donetsk Oblast), Kupiansk (Kharkiv Oblast), Svatove (Luhansk Oblast).
General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, the commander of the Tavriia Operational and Strategic Grouping of Troops, said Ukraine's defense forces are systematically driving the enemy out of their positions in the southern Tavriia direction, and Russian troops lost 28 units of equipment, an ammunition depot, and almost two companies of soldiers killed and wounded in action there on 6 July.
"The ratio of irrecoverable losses in the south is 1 to 5.3. That is, the enemy in the South kills 5.3 times more soldiers than we do," Maliar wrote.
Read also:
- Ukraine launches counteroffensive on three fronts as Russia escalates attacks – ISW
- Frontline update: Russians try attacking Ukrainian bridgehead in Kherson, get demolished
- Russia shifts troops across sectors amid uncertainty over Ukraine’s upcoming attacks – military
- Ukrainians counterattack in five front sectors, making gains in some areas, conduct rear strikes on July 5 – ISW
- Zelenskyy wished that Ukraine had started counteroffensive “much earlier” – CNN
