Ukrainian forces have continued to make gains in the south, liberating an area roughly the size of the city of Odesa since the start of its counteroffensive, the General Staff of Ukraine's military said on July 10, as a fresh Russian strike on a town in Zaporizhzhya killed at least four people and wounded at least 13.
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The intense fighting comes as NATO is preparing for a key summit on July 11-12 in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, where the war in Ukraine and the alliance's ties with Kyiv are expected to take center stage, although Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's participation in the summit has not yet been officially confirmed.
Over the past week, the Ukrainian military advanced 1 kilometer in the Melitopol and Berdyansk areas of the Zaporizhzhya region, the General Staff reported on Facebook.
Since the start of the counteroffensive in the south, Ukrainian forces have advanced a total of 8.6 kilometers and liberated more than 10 square kilometers, the military said, adding that the total surface of the regained territory in the Melitopol and Berdyansk areas was 169 square kilometers -- approximately the size of the Black Sea port city of Odesa.
Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said on July 9 that Ukrainian forces are consolidating gains made in the southern directions of Melitopol and Berdyansk, where "hot battles" are under way.
Malyar added that in the eastern region of Donetsk, Russian forces were on the defensive in Bakhmut, while heavy fighting was also under way in Lyman, Avdiyivka, and Maryinka, where the General Staff reported more than 30 combat clashes over the previous 24 hours.
At least five people were killed and 13 others were wounded when Russian shelling hit an aid distribution center in Orikhiv, a town on the front line in the southern region of Zaporizhzhya, regional Governor Yuriy Malashko said on July 10.
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The death toll increased when the body of another man was pulled from a destroyed distribution center. The Interior Ministry reported that three people may still be under the rubble. Rescuers continued operations late on July 10.
Russian forces carried out a total of 36 air strikes on 10 civilian settlements in the Zaporizhzhya region over the past 24 hours, Malahsko said early on July 10.
Also on July 10, Russian troops used ballistic missiles in a strike on the southern city of Mykolayiv, wounding one person and causing damage to civilian infrastructure, regional Governor Vitaly Kim said on Telegram.
Ahead of the Vilnius summit, NATO members remained divided over how to put Ukraine on a path to membership but appeared to remove one key hurdle to Kyiv joining the alliance.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said he had put forward a package that included the removal of the requirement for a Membership Action Plan (MAP) -- a list of political, economic, and military goals that other eastern European nations had to meet before joining the alliance.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted earlier that there had been a consensus among allies to drop MAP but added that while he welcomes the long-awaited decision, it is also "the best moment to offer clarity on the invitation to Ukraine to become member."
Zelenskiy on July 10 again asked Western allies for a "clear signal" on his country's NATO membership prospects.
"Ukraine deserves to be in the alliance. Not now, because now there's war, but we need a clear signal, and this signal is needed right now," Zelenskiy said in a video message posted on Twitter.
"The security reality here on NATO's eastern flank depends on Ukraine. When we applied to join @NATO we were frank: Ukraine is de facto already in the alliance. Our weapons are the weapons of the alliance. Our values are what the alliance believes in. Our defense is the very element of the formula of Europe that makes it united, free, and peaceful," Zelenskiy said. "Vilnius must confirm all this."
Stoltenberg told a news conference there would be more meetings, adding that no final decision has been made but he is "absolutely certain that we will have unity and a strong message on Ukraine."
Moscow again warned against allowing Kyiv into the alliance. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it would have a "very, very negative" impact on Europe's security and Moscow would have to contemplate a "firm" response to what he called "an absolute danger and a threat to our country."
President Vladimir Putin has cited NATO's eastward expansion as a reason for his decision to send his armed forces into Ukraine in February 2022.