Russia seizes 84 sq km in June, but rate of advance slows – DeepState

Russian forces occupied 84 square kilometres of Ukrainian territory in June. However, if areas liberated by Ukraine's defence forces are taken into account, the net change in occupied territory for Russia may be negative for the second consecutive month.

Source: DeepState, a Ukrainian group of military analysts

Quote: "According to our map, the increase in occupied territory in June amounted to 84 sq km. Meanwhile, the [Ukrainian] defence forces' successes can hardly be fully reflected yet, and if we take into account how much our forces liberated last month, the enemy may end up with a negative figure for the second month in a row. Although the difference is small."

Details: DeepState also noted that the number of Russian assault actions increased by 4.4% in June. According to the analysts, this is due to a change in the nature of attacks, with Russian command increasingly sending single soldiers into assaults.

Meanwhile, in the second half of June Russian forces achieved some gains on the Kostiantynivka front, in the vicinity of Ukraine's state border and near Huliaipole, which slightly improved their position compared to May.

The analysts also expect that in July Ukraine may be able to report advances on one of the fronts.

Quote: "As we wrote, a turning point is now emerging in the war, and the development will depend on the actions of the Ukrainian command. If in May we made two steps forward, then in June it was one step forward and one step back."

Background: DeepState previously reported that in May the Russians occupied 14 square kilometres of Ukrainian territory. According to analysts, this was the lowest monthly advance for Russia in the past three years.

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