General Staff reports new positions gained on southern front line

Ukrainian forces achieved partial success in at least two directions on the southern front and made new gains, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on June 22.

The military continues to conduct offensive operations in three main directions – Meilotopol, Berdiansk, and Lyman, the General Staff informed.

Russian forces are reportedly deploying reserves to recover lost positions but are suffering heavy losses, the brief added.

According to its report, Ukrainian forces advanced in the Rivnopil-Staromaiorske direction (in the west of Donetsk Oblast) and in the Bilohorivka-Dibrova direction (on the border between Luhansk and Kharkiv Oblasts), solidifying newly taken positions.

President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged on June 21 that battlefield progress has been "slower than desired," due to increased Russian defenses on the frontlines, particularly in western Zaporizhzhia Oblast and throughout southern Ukraine.

Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar emphasized on June 20 that it is not useful to gauge the success of military actions based "solely by kilometers or the number of liberated settlements," underscoring that the pace of Ukraine's operations right now is not indicative of future successes.

Ukraine war latest: Military keeps advancing south, Zelensky says offensive ‘slower than desired’ but not ‘a movie’

Key developments on June 21: * Ukrainian forces report further advance in the south * Germany delivers Patriot missile system to Ukraine * Russia fortifies defense lines in Crimea, creates branch of Black Sea Fleet in occupied Mariupol * Russian forces attack 10 regions, kill 4 people on June 2…

The Kyiv IndependentAlexander Query