Ukrainian soldiers hold positions on left bank in Kherson Oblast – ISW

Ukrainian defenders have taken and are holding positions on the left bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast.

Source: ISW

Details: One Kremlin-linked military blogger has claimed that Ukrainian forces are trying to expand their positions near the Antonivka Road Bridge on the left (eastern) bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast.

The ISW has confirmed that Ukrainian forces have taken and are holding certain positions on the left (eastern) bank. Geolocation footage released on 26 June shows Russian armoured vehicles, reportedly from the 7th Guards Mountain Air Assault Division, operating near the Antonivka Road Bridge.

Another blogger has noted that the 7th Guards Mountain Air Assault Division launched a missile attack on Ukrainian positions near the Antonivka Road Bridge and used a Russian thermobaric artillery system TOS-1 on the night of 25-26 June. This military blogger has claimed that the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant dam has provided Ukrainian forces with freedom of movement, but that Russian forces are continuing to repel Ukrainian attacks. 

The Ukrainian General Staff of the Armed Forces has acknowledged that Russian forces had carried out air strikes in and around Oleshky, which may indicate that Ukrainian forces are conducting some operations in the area.

In Luhansk Oblast, Russian and Ukrainian forces continued ground attacks northwest of Svatove and south of Kreminna on 27 June. The Ukrainian General Staff has reported that Russian troops conducted unsuccessful offensives near Stelmakhivka (15 kilometres northwest of Svatove).

One Russian military blogger has claimed that units of the 76th Guards Air Assault Division continued to advance in the Kreminna forest. Another blogger has claimed that Russian troops had conducted unsuccessful ground attacks near Vesele (30 kilometres south of Kreminna) and Rozdolivka (32 kilometres southwest of Kreminna).

The Russian Ministry of Defence has stated that the Russian occupiers repelled two Ukrainian ground attacks in an unspecified area on the Lyman front, while a Russian military blogger has claimed that Ukrainian troops unsuccessfully attacked near Bilohorivka (10 kilometres south of Kreminna) and Spirne (25 kilometres south of Kreminna).

The Ukrainian side has announced that it has intensified its offensive on the Bakhmut front since 27 June. Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said that the Ukrainian forces were taking into account the conflict between the Wagner Group and the Russian Ministry of Defence when planning operations in the east.

Maliar has said that Ukrainian forces have been conducting offensive operations and advancing on the flanks of Bakhmut for the fourth day in a row. She added that the situation in Bakhmut is complicated as Russian troops occupy large fortifications in the city and that Ukrainian forces will advance more slowly.

Colonel Serhii Cherevatyi, the spokesperson for the East Grouping of Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, has said that Ukrainian troops have the initiative on the battlefield near Bakhmut. Andrii Kovaliov, the spokesperson for the General Staff of the Armed Force of Ukraine, has said that Ukrainian troops continue offensive operations in the areas of Orikhovo-Vasylivka (11 kilometres northwest of Bakhmut), Ivanivske (6 kilometres west of Bakhmut), Kurdiumivka (14 kilometres southwest of Bakhmut) and Pivnichne (20 kilometres southwest of Bakhmut) on the flanks of the Bakhmut front.

A popular Russian blogger has described the military situation north of Soledar as "difficult" and claimed that Ukrainian forces were counter-attacking in the direction of Yakovlivka (14 kilometres north-east of Bakhmut). He has claimed that Ukrainian forces had launched unsuccessful counterattacks southwest of Bakhmut and that they were also in the area of Kurdiumivka (14 kilometres north-east of Bakhmut).

As of 27 June, Russian forces continued limited ground attacks and advanced in the vicinity of Bakhmut. Geolocation video footage released on 27 June indicates that Russian forces may have reduced the tactical gains of Ukrainian forces near Berkhivka (6 kilometres north of Bakhmut) as of 27 June, although it is unclear when Russian forces made these gains.

A Russian military blogger has claimed that Russian troops launched unsuccessful ground attacks from their positions in Berkhivka and Dubovo-Vasylivka (6 kilometres northwest of Bakhmut), as well as towards Mynkivka (13 kilometres north-east of Bakhmut).

The Ukrainian General Staff has reported that Russian troops launched unsuccessful ground attacks near Bohdanivka (5 kilometres northwest of Bakhmut) and Ivanivske.

Russian forces continued limited attacks on the Avdiivka-Donetsk line on 27 June. The Ukrainian General Staff has reported that Russian troops conducted unsuccessful attacks near Pervomaiske (6 kilometres southwest of Avdiivka) and Marinka (directly southwest of Donetsk).

The Russian state-owned RT channel has claimed that Russian troops in Marinka were gradually advancing and that advancing infantrymen occasionally carried out artillery strikes on Ukrainian positions 15-20 metres from their own.

The Ukrainian side has reported that Ukrainian defenders made minor gains in areas that had been held by Russian forces since 2014. 

The UK Ministry of Defence has confirmed that Ukrainian forces made minor gains east of Krasnohorivka (directly west of Donetsk), marking the first time that Ukrainian forces have liberated the territory occupied before 2014.

However, the ISW has seen no independent evidence that Ukrainian forces have liberated the long-occupied territory. According to the UK Ministry of Defence, the recent Ukrainian attacks may have "overstretched" the forces of the so-called "DPR" [self-proclaimed and non-recognised Donetsk People’s Republic – ed.] and Chechens in Donetsk Oblast.

In the south, Ukrainian troops continued counter-offensive operations near the administrative border of Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.

General Staff spokesperson Andrii Kovaliov has said that the Defence Forces conducted successful counter-offensive operations in the Novodarivka-Priiutne (Velyka Novosilka) area.

Russia's Ministry of Defence has stated that the Eastern Military Group repelled three Ukrainian attacks near Velyka Novosilka.

Russian sources have reported that Ukrainian forces launched unsuccessful attacks in the area of Novodonetske (11 kilometres southeast of Velyka Novosilka) and Urozhaine (9 kilometres south of Velyka Novosilka). 

The Kremlin-appointed official of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Vladimir Rogov, has said that Russian troops repelled four Ukrainian attacks in the area of Rivnepil (9 kilometres southwest of Velyka Novosilka).

In addition, Russian sources have claimed that heavy fighting is ongoing in the area of the Vremivka bulge and warn that if Ukrainian forces advance further, they may be able to cut off the Vremivka bulge.

A Russian military blogger has expressed concern that Ukrainian troops are preparing for further offensives on the southern Donetsk front despite the bad weather.

Ukraine's General Staff has reported that Russian troops conducted unsuccessful offensive operations on the Rivnepil front. Oleg Chekhov, the press secretary for the Eastern Command of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, has said that Russian troops destroyed a Ukrainian unit near Storozheve (3 kilometres south of Velyka Novosilka). One Russian military blogger has said that Russian troops unsuccessfully attacked near Novodarivka (14 kilometres southwest of Velyka Novosilka).

A Kremlin-linked military blogger has acknowledged the liberation of Rivnepil by Ukrainian forces and said that Ukrainian troops had gained additional successes in the Rivnepil area.

In Zaporizhzhia Oblast, as Kovaliov reported, the Defence Forces conducted successful offensive operations in the direction of Novodanylivka-Robotyne (Orikhiv).

The Russian Ministry of Defence has said that Russian forces stopped a Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group near Robotyne (12 kilometres south of Orikhiv).

Rogov has said that Russian forces stopped a Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group in the area of Myrne (17 kilometres southwest of Orikhiv). He has also claimed that Ukrainians have resumed attacks in the area of Robotyne to regain control of previously liberated Ukrainian positions north of the town, which Russian forces had retaken on 26 June.

Russian military bloggers have claimed that Piatykhatky (25 kilometres southwest of Orikhiv) remains in the disputed "grey zone" and that positional fighting is ongoing near the town. However, geolocation footage released on 27 June shows that the Russian 429th Motorised Rifle Regiment (19th Motorised Rifle Division of the 58th Combined Arms Army of the Southern Military District) is striking Ukrainian positions in Piatykhatky. 

On 27 June, Rogov shared footage supposedly showing units of the Russian 291st Motorised Rifle Regiment (42nd Motorised Rifle Division of the 58th Combined Arms Army of the Southern Military District) operating near Robotyne.

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