Ukraine Claims Forces Gaining Ground As Counteroffensive Trudges On

A Ukrainian soldier of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade fires a 122-millimeter mortar toward Russian positions at the front line near Bakhmut on July 2.

Ukrainians troops have captured territory from Russian forces around Bakhmut in the east and along the southern front in the last week, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said on Telegram on July 3.

Ukrainian soldiers ride atop a car along a road near the recently retaken village of Novodarivka in the Zaporizhzhya region.

Russian forces continue to occupy more than 45,000 square kilometers in southern Ukraine, not counting the Crimean Peninsula and the parts of southern Donetsk occupied since 2014.

Ukrainian soldiers walk along a road in the liberated village of Novodarivka. The village was liberated on June 4 as part of Kyiv's counteroffensive that began after it accumulated stockpiles of Western arms and ammunition.

A destroyed Russian tank is seen near the village of Novodarivka.

A Ukrainian soldier of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade carries a 122-mm mortar near Bakhmut.

Some 9 square kilometers had been retaken near Bakhmut and a further 28 square kilometers at various points in the south, Malyar said.

Troops of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade fire a mortar at Russian positions near Bakhmut.

Smoke from Russian shelling is seen near the front close to Bakhmut.

Russian forces had gone on the offensive along sections of the eastern front, Malyar said. "We are moving forward in the Bakhmut area, while the enemy is continuing to attack in the direction of Lyman, Avdiyivka, and Maryinka," she said

A Ukrainian soldier prepares a drone near the front in the Zaporizhzhya region on July 1.

Both sides have increased their use of drones in combat operations.
 

A Ukrainian medic carries a wounded soldier to a stabilization point in an undisclosed area near Bakhmut.

Both sides have refused to disclose casualty figures.

A member of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade drives toward the front near Bakhmut.

A Ukrainian soldier with the call sign "Hammer" looks up from his position in a trench on the front line in the Zaporizhzhya region. He lost his leg battling Russian troops and came back to the front with a prosthetic limb.

In a June 30 interview, Ukraine's military commander-in-chief, Valeriy Zaluzhniy, expressed frustration at the slow deliveries of weaponry promised by the West and its criticism of Kyiv's progress, "Every day, every meter is given by blood."