Ukraine Counteroffensive Map Shows Zelensky's Forces Advance Near Bakhmut

Ukraine said on Monday it's making advances near the Donetsk city of Bakhmut in its counteroffensive against occupying Russian forces in an assessment that coincides with the latest map of Ukrainian operations.

Twitter account War Mapper, which provides daily updates of the status of territory in the Russia-Ukraine war, tweeted an image on Monday which it said showed Ukrainian troops had advanced and "taken old (Russian) positions southwest of Bakhmut."

Hanna Maliar, Ukraine's deputy defense minister, wrote on Telegram that Kyiv's forces had been pushing forward in the direction of Bakhmut. She added that Ukrainian troops were continuing successful offensive operations toward Melitopol and Berdiansk in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Kyiv's forces had so far liberated 61 square miles in total, including 10 square miles over the last week.

Maliar also said there were Ukrainian offensive and defensive operations on the eastern front line, with Russian forces continuing to advance toward Lyman, Avdiivka, and Mariinka where they faced strong resistance from Kyiv's troops.

On Sunday, Ukrainian Eastern Group of Forces Spokesperson Colonel Serhiy Cherevaty said that Ukrainian forces were making advances on the flanks around Bakhmut, without specifying where exactly.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces have reportedly conducted operations in six sectors of the front making gains in some of them, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

The Russian Ministry of Defense and other Russian sources said that these gains include in the Lyman direction, in the Bakhmut area, along the Avdiivka-Donetsk City front, in western Donetsk Oblast, on the border between Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk oblasts, and in western Zaporizhzhia Oblast, the ISW reported on Sunday.

A Russian milblogger added that Ukrainian troops had made gains near Klishchiivka, around 4 miles southwest of Bakhmut.

The ISW also wrote on Sunday that Russian sources were describing Kyiv's moves "as smaller tactical operations than earlier Ukrainian counteroffensive operations."

Newsweek has emailed the Ukrainian defense ministry for comment.

Meanwhile, Bakhmut has been the scene of a fierce fight for months, with Moscow's efforts initially involving troops from the Wagner Group of mercenaries led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, who claimed in May that the city had been taken.

Prigozhin, who was once an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, rebelled on June 24 against the Russian leader and the defense ministry after criticizing them for months over Moscow's military performance in the war in Ukraine.

He attempted to lead a mercenary uprising against the Russian government by advancing inside Moscow, but those efforts were deescalated shortly afterwards when his troops returned to their field camps after Putin's top ally, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, negotiated deescalation steps. As part of those steps, Prigozhin would be exiled to Belarus.

On Monday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu spoke publicly about the rebellion for the first time, saying that the provocation "did not affect" Russian military units.

"The soldiers courageously and selflessly continued to carry out the tasks assigned to them," he said, according to state news agency RIA Novosti.