ISW: Ukraine continues counter-offensive on four stretches of frontline on 9 June

The US Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reports in its latest bulletin that the Ukrainian army continued its counter-offensive efforts at least on four stretches of the frontline on 9 June.

According to the think tank, the Ukrainian forces advanced near Bakhmut and to the west of the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.

ISW experts also note that the Russian military command is likely overlapping each other on the southern Ukraine axis. The Russian Defence Ministry has been reporting lately in different statements that four different generals — Alexander Romanchuk, Mikahil Teplinsky, Sergey Kuzovlev, and Valery Gerasimov — head operations in the region. The organisation notes that their command structure is unclear.

In turn, the British intelligence also reports that the Ukrainian army managed to achieve “good progress” in some areas of the southern and eastern frontlines in the past 48 hours, penetrating the first Russian defence line.

The British experts add that the performance of the Russian military was “mixed”. According to them, some Russian units likely conducted successful defence operations, while the others retreated “in some disorder” amid an increased number of losses while withdrawing through Russia’s own minefields.