Ukraine Map Reveals How Counteroffensive Against Russia is Progressing

A map of Kyiv's counteroffensive has shown its troops advancing in three directions, although Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has admitted that progress in its push was "slower than desired."

The British Ministry of Defense tweeted an image on Wednesday that it said outlined the state of Kyiv's counteroffensive, which is believed to have started on June 4 and aims to recapture Russian-occupied territory.

Amid operational secrecy from Kyiv, the MOD said that there were "likely" Ukrainian advances towards Bakhmut and Vulhedar in Donetsk Oblast and Orikhiv in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

Also on Wednesday, British defense officials said Russia has been building defensive lines in rear areas, especially between Kherson and Crimea, with the aim of maintaining control of the peninsula seized by Moscow in 2014.

Ukraine has said it has reclaimed eight villages in the Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions but Zelensky told the BBC that slowing down his forces' push were 77,000 square miles of Ukrainian territory that had been mined by Russian forces.

He said that while observers might think of the counteroffensive as a "Hollywood movie" in which instant results are expected, "it's not."

"Whatever some might want, including attempts to pressure us, we will advance on the battlefield the way we deem best," he said.

Marina Miron, a post-doctoral researcher in the Department of War Studies at King's College London said Ukraine cannot rush into the counteroffensive because it cannot match Russia's ground-based air defenses and air power.

Also, Russia's echeloned defense systems means that "it is difficult for the Ukrainian armed forces to progress quickly in these conditions."

"There are also other factors, such as political pressure and the lack of surprise, to name but a few," she told Newsweek. "The armed forces of Ukraine have a military objective, and how long it will take them to achieve it depends if they manage to push the Russians back."

Zelensky's deputy defense minister, Hanna Maliar, said on Monday that Russia had committed a lot of manpower, which made advances difficult.

However, she said that Ukrainian forces are yet to start the main phase of the counteroffensive and that their operations are not only focused on liberating territory.

"Despite the fact that our troops are advancing in several directions of the south, the enemy is concentrating its efforts in the east and continues to advance there," she said as Moscow's troops sought to reach the borders of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

"We must prepare for the fact that it will be a tough fight," she added.

On Wednesday she said on Telegram that offensive actions in the Melitopol and Berdiansk areas had some "partial success" and that the front line near Bakhmut was "stable."

Newsweek has contacted the Russian defense ministry for comment.

In his BBC interview Zelensky also made the case for Ukraine to receive U.S-made F-16s. He also reiterated the need for Kyiv to be give security guarantees from NATO and that the goal was to eventually join the alliance.

Ahead of its summit next month in Vilnius, alliance secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said there was no plan to invite Ukraine to join NATO.