With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine raging for 16 months, Ukraine is now pushing back with its long-awaited counteroffensive that has already recorded a number of gains.
On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised Ukrainian troops for advancing “in all sectors”, having spent the day presenting awards to front-line soldiers in the east and south.
"Today in all sectors, our soldiers made advances. It is a happy day," Mr Zelensky said in his nightly video address, which was delivered from a train after visiting two frontline areas.
Ukrainian servicemen during a visit by Ukraine’s President Zelensky at a frontline position in the Berdyansk direction, Ukraine, 26 June 2023— (EPA/Ukrainian Presidential Press Service)
The president’s office posted four videos of the journey, which he noted covered "hundreds of kilometres.” Encounters in at least three locations were documented.
One site was in eastern Donetsk region, a focal point in the 16-month-old conflict; one was located in what was described as the Berdiansk sector in the south – in areas where Ukrainian forces have captured villages; and another was also on the southern front, further to the west.
Addressing the pace of the Ukrainian advances last week, senior officials suggested that the main part of the counteroffensive had not yet begun, with presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak stating on Twitter that “formation operations are under way to set up the battlefield.” Deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar added that the “main events” of the counteroffensive were “ahead of us.”
Here, we take a look at the advances Ukraine has made against Russia and the current state of play:
What advances has Ukraine made?
Ukraine has reported recapturing 130 square km (50 square miles) in the south of the country. since launching a counteroffensive, though Russian forces still control swathes of Ukrainian territory in the south and east of the country.
In the last few weeks, Ukraine has reported recapturing nine villages, with the latest including Rivnopil in the Donetsk Oblast.
On 12 June 2023, Ms Maliar said that the Ukrainian flag was flying again over the village of Storozhov in the eastern Donetsk province. She added that the Zaporizhzhia province settlements of Lobkove, Levadne and Novodrivka had also been reclaimed.
On 11 June, Ukrainian officials confirmed that its troops had recaptured the Donestk villages of Blahodatne, Makarivka and Neskuchne, all south of the town of Velyka Novosilka.
Has Ukraine retaken Rivnopil?
Deputy defence minister Maliar said on Monday that Ukrainian forces had regained control over Rivnopil, a village west of a cluster of settlements recaptured in offensive operations.
"(Ukrainian) Defence forces have brought Rivnopil back under our control," Ms Maliar wrote on the Telegram messaging app. Although a military spokesperson said Rivnopil was deserted and heavily damaged.
Zelensky poses with a serviceman at a gas station during a visit to the Donetsk region on 26 June 2023— (Handout/Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/AFP via Getty Images)
Ms Maliar did not confirm when Ukrainian troops entered the village, but a Ukrainian soldier said in a 13-second video – which is currently unverified - shared by Ukraine’s military that it was retaken on Sunday. The footage depicted the soldier in front of a decimated building with a Ukrainian flag flying from a post.
Valeryi Shershen, spokesperson for the Tavria, or southern, military sector, further told Ukrainian television that the village had been almost completely destroyed, with no civilians residing there.
How many have died in the war?
Between the war’s commencement in February 2022 and 18 June 2023, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has recorded a total of 24,862 civilian casualties in Ukraine, of which 9,083 were killed and 15,779 injured.
Of these numbers, 20,073 casualties (7,072 killed and 13,001 injured) occurred in territory controlled by Ukraine, including 9,966 casualties (4,105 killed and 5,861 injured) in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Elsewhere, 4,789 casualties (2,011 killed and 2,778 injured) occurred in territory occupied by Russia.
Ukrainian servicemen of the 47th Magura Separate Mechanised Brigade fire a BM-21 Grad multiple launch rocket system towards Russian troops near a front line in Zaporizhzhia region, 25 June 2023— (REUTERS)
However, the OHCHR notes that the actual figures are likely to be “considerably higher” on account of the delay in information from locations experiencing intense fighting, including Mariupol (Donetsk region), Lysychansk, Popasna, and Sievierodonetsk (the eastern Luhansk region).
The latest figures, recorded between 1 June and 18 June 2023, display 557 recorded civilian casualties in Ukraine, of which 112 were killed and 445 injured. Explosive weapons with wide area effects formed the majority, at 107 and 425 respectively, with mines and explosive remnants of war killing 5 and injuring 20 during this period.
A Ukrainian military helicopter takes off to carry out a mission during military drills in the north of Ukraine, 1 June 2023— (Reuters/Gleb Garanich)
When did Russia invade Ukraine?
Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022. Putin launched troops from the north, east and south, claiming that the "special military operation" is aimed at "demilitarisation" and "denazification" of the country to protect ethnic Russians, prevent Kyiv’s Nato membership and to keep it in Russia‘s "sphere of influence."
Ukraine and the West labelled the invasion an illegal act of aggression against a country with a democratically-elected government.
