Kyiv's forces have made incremental advances in the northeast of Ukraine according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), whose latest maps outline the latest state of the frontline.
The Washington think tank said Ukraine's troops had made gains within Vovchansk, the town close to the border with Russia, toward where Moscow's forces had launched an offensive in May. The region remains fiercely fought over.
ISW's Wednesday update noted how, amid continued fighting in the north of the Kharkiv region, Ukraine's forces made marginal gains within the center Vovchansk while fighting continued nearby.
One ISW map said that geolocated footage from Tuesday showed Ukrainian advances in northern Vovchansk where the Russian 79th Motorized Rifle Regiment, as well as Chechen Akhmat Spetsnaz elements, are reportedly operating in the area.
The ISW also said that Ukrainian forces had advanced northwest of Kreminna along the Kupyansk-Svatove-Kreminna line, although it also noted Russian reports of advances and attacks by Moscow.
Another of the think tank's maps showed Ukrainian advances near Kreminina and east of Terny in the area between Kharkiv and Luhansk on July 1, but it also marked Russian advances further north on June 30 and noted Moscow's claims that it had seized the town of Stepova Novoselivka.
Meanwhile, a third ISW map showed how geolocated footage indicated Russian advances in eastern Chasiv Yar, in the Donetsk oblast, a district of which the Russian defense ministry claimed on Wednesday its forces had captured.
Following Moscow's claims, the spokesperson for Ukraine's Khortytsia group of forces fighting in the area, Nazar Voloshyn, told national television on Thursday that it had withdrawn from the Kanal neighborhood of Chasiv Yar.
This was because defensive positions in the area had been destroyed and commanders wanted to take troops to better-protected positions, the Kyiv Independent reported.
The town is a focus for Moscow following its capture of Avdiivka in February and could pave the way for more Russian advances into the Donetsk region.
Ukrainian armed forces Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Tuesday that fighting had been intense recently round the town of Toretsk, around 15 miles south of Chasiv Yar.
On Wednesday, a Russian drone and missile attack on the city of Dnipro killed at least six people and injured 53, the region's governor Serhii Lysak said.
A shopping center, cars and a gas station were also hit in the strike, according to Mykola Lukashuk, the head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional council. Newsweek has contacted the Russian defense ministry for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Brendan Cole is a Newsweek Senior News Reporter based in London, UK. His focus is Russia and Ukraine, in particular ... Read more
