Deputy defence minister Anna Malyar said that during the week of the war, the defenders of Ukraine drove the enemy from the southern and eastern occupied territories – 18 km². In total, the summer counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has already helped to return 210.5 km². ISW confirms the statements of the Ukrainian Ministry and points out that Russia is losing. The media compares the results of Ukraine and Russia. For 6 weeks of the summer, the AFU liberated the number of territories Russian soldiers had occupied for 20 weeks.
However, Malyar says that small victories are difficult for Bahmut, Kupyansk, Lyman, Avdiivka, and Mariinka to remain hot spots with heavy battles. The defence Ministry believes that the occupiers are looking for weak points in the defence and also want to regain lost positions to attract more soldiers from Ukraine. Thus, the Kremlin may hope to weaken the Ukrainian army's positions elsewhere.
Soldiers of the country sponsoring terrorism are losing ground. Also, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are attacking the ammunition depots of the occupiers. On 17 July, part of the illegally built Crimean bridge was damaged by marine drones. It also complicates the Kremlin's task of holding territories. In such situations, Ukrainian people like to sarcastically say: "What's with your face, Russia?"
