Ukraine liberates over 14 km² over the past week – General Staff

The Ukrainian Defense Forces continue to conduct offensive operations at the Melitopol, Berdiansk, and Bakhmut directions. According to the General Staff, Ukrainian Armed Forces units advanced more than one kilometer in the southern Melitopol and Berdiansk directions, bringing the total advancement to 8.6 kilometers since the beginning of the offensive on these axes in early June. Southern Ukraine saw the liberation of more than ten square kilometers over the past week, with the total reclaimed area being 169 km² in the course of the counter-offensive, the Staff says. Mine clearance activities are ongoing in these areas. In the east, Ukrainian soldiers reclaimed four km² in the Bakhmut sector.

"In total, the liberated area in the Bakhmut sector amounts to 24 square kilometers of Ukrainian land,"  the General Staff wrote.

In its morning bulletin, the General Staff noted that the Russian forces continue to focus their main efforts on the Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and Mariinka directions in Donetsk Oblast, where heavy fighting continues and about 30 combat engagements took place over the last day. Read also:

• Ukrainian forces advance near Bakhmut – Ukraine’s Defense Ministry  
• Ukrainian continued counteroffensive operations on at least three front sectors on 8 July – ISW
• Frontline report: Ukrainians make strides in southern front’s Velyka Novosilka axis, outmaneuvering Russian defenses
• Steady progress of the Ukrainian military near Bakhmut, according to British intelligence