Ukraine’s Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar stated on Telegram that Kyiv’s forces have already retaken 204.7 sq kms in the south after launching a massive offensive against Russian soldiers early last month.
Over the last week, Ukrainian forces have been waging a counteroffensive against Russian troops in the east and south, reclaiming roughly 15 sq km (5.8 square miles) of territory, a senior army official said on Monday.
Ukraine Reclaims Russian-Occupied Territories
Russia, which started its full-fledged invasion in February 2022, controls vast terrain areas and built a network of fortifications and minefields to impede Ukrainian soldiers’ progress.
Maliar said that Kyiv’s soldiers had retaken 2 sq km on the Bakhmut front in the last week, bringing the total land regained to 37 sq kms since the counteroffensive began.
She said that Kyiv’s troops had reclaimed 12.6 sq km last week in the south, where Ukrainian forces are attempting to advance towards Berdyansk and Melitopol.
According to Maliar, Russian soldiers attempted to strike on two northern fronts at Kupiansk and Lyman but failed to break through. “Our defence forces are powerfully holding back enemy troops,” she added.
Kyiv said last week that its soldiers liberated the southeast town of Staromaiorske as part of its plan to destroy Russia’s land bridge from east to south and the occupied peninsula of Crimea on the Black Sea.
Ukrainian Defenders de-occupied another 12.6 square kilometers in southern Ukraine over the past week - deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar.
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) July 31, 2023
Ukrainian Armed Forces had successes in the area of Mala Tokmachka and Robotyne villages in Zaporizhzhia region and are "consolidating… pic.twitter.com/c3vsgI5Ebf
Ukraine’s Counteroffensive
Russia spent months fortifying the almost 1,000 km frontline across its territory in preparation for Ukraine’s counteroffensive.
Ukrainian forces broke through Russia’s first line of less fortified positions and liberated three villages in the Donetsk region’s south on 11 June. Over the next two days, four more villages were liberated. Later, Ukraine attacked a Russian ammunition depot in southern Kherson.
By the end of June, the Ukrainian counteroffensive had made only minor advances. However, Ukraine’s defence minister warned this was only a “preview” of a much bigger effort.
Then, a drone attack was launched on Moscow as part of the Ukrainian counteroffensive. Russian forces shot down one drone near the airbase over Kubinka village. Another landed at Krivosheino, near Vnukovo airport. Reportedly, two additional drones were destroyed near the town of Valuevo.
Earlier this month, Moscow accused Kyiv of attacking the Crimea bridge that connected the occupied peninsula to Russia. Following reports of an explosion, due to which the bridge partially collapsed, killing two people, Ukraine took responsibility for the blast.
By July end, drone strikes damaged two skyscrapers in Moscow’s prime business district. Moscow’s mayor accused Ukraine of the latest attack on Russia’s capital.
Three drones attacked Moscow in the early morning of July 30. In a video message, Zelensky said it's "natural and fair" that the war is returning to Russian territory.https://t.co/G7M1846fyW
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) July 30, 2023
Zelensky Claims War Returning to Russia
After three Ukrainian drones were shot down over Moscow on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that war was gradually returning to Russia.
According to Zelensky, attacks on Russian territory were an “inevitable, natural, and absolutely fair process” of the conflict between the two countries.
The Ukrainian leader said in a video message, from the western Ukrainian city of Ivano-Frankivsk, that Ukraine was “getting stronger.” He also warned of a possible Russian attack on energy infrastructure this winter, saying his country should be ready to repel it.
Putin Says Ukraine’s Counteroffensive is Failing
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently stated that the Ukrainian counteroffensive aimed at pushing Russian troops out of Ukraine is “simply failing.”
The remark was made at Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko’s informal meeting in St. Petersburg to address various issues. During the discussion, Lukashenko was quoted as stating, “There is no [Ukrainian] counteroffensive,” to which Putin responded, “It exists, but it has failed.”