Ukrainian forces launched a wave of missile attacks across the entire front

The counteroffensive is advancing steadily, albeit with strong Russian resistance.

Meanwhile, the Group of Seven (G7) Coalition and NATO signed agreements to offer Ukraine long-term security commitments during the NATO Summit in Vilnius on July 12.  Ukrainian concentrated missile attacks on 7/13/23

Washington DC, July 13.– The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a U.S.-based think tank, said in its latest analysis of the conflict in Ukraine that geolocated footage and images indicate that Ukrainian forces targeted Russian logistics across the front line overnight and during the day on Wednesday, July 12.

The assessment came as Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine's Security and Defense Council, gave an update on Kyiv's counteroffensive, which seeks to wear down Moscow's forces and recapture Russian-occupied territory. He said Ukraine's focus was currently on destroying Russian equipment and personnel and that the past few days of fighting had been particularly "fruitful," without elaborating.

Geolocated footage and images published this week indicated that Ukrainian forces struck an ammunition depot in Makiivka and a Russian-occupation administration building in Volnovakha, both in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, as well as Russian positions near Debaltseve, 32 miles northeast of the city of Donetsk and a railway station in Yasynuvata, also near the regional capital.

Russian milbloggers also said that Ukrainian forces had struck Russian positions near Melitopol and attempted to strike Berdyansk in the Zaporizhzhia region with U.K.-supplied Storm Shadow cruise missiles. Russian sources also said that Russian air-defense systems shot down a Ukrainian missile in the vicinity of Berdyansk. A local Telegram channel also said that Russian air defenses were activated near Skadovsk, in the Kherson region, the ISW said.

"The footage and claims of these Ukrainian strikes suggest that Ukrainian forces launched a coordinated series of strikes aimed at degrading Russian logistics and ground lines of communication (GLOCs) throughout the theater," the ISW said.

The think tank noted that on Tuesday, U.K. Chief of the Defense Staff Admiral Sir Antony David Radakin said that Ukrainian forces were conducting an operation to "starve, stretch, and strike" Russian forces to break down their defensive lines.

"A widespread strike series targeting Russian GLOCs and logistics would be an appropriate element of such a strategy and is partially reminiscent of the interdiction campaign that Ukrainian forces conducted as a part of the Kherson counteroffensive," the ISW said. Ukrainian forces on the offensive 7/12/23

On Wednesday, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said on her Telegram channel that Ukrainian forces were "hitting the enemy in the east so powerfully that in some areas their military units have begun to leave their positions as whole units," adding that there was fierce fighting ongoing in the Bakhmut direction.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov signed agreements with Swedish Defense Minister Paul Jonsson on cooperation in the field of defense procurement and with the French Defense Ministry on increasing French military assistance to Ukraine by 170 million euros. The Ukrainian Presidential Office announced that Australia will send an additional 30 Bushmaster armored vehicles to Ukraine. The UK government stated that the UK will provide Ukraine with an additional 50 million pounds in security assistance, including additional ammunition for Challenger tanks. Norwegian Defense Minister Bjorn Arild Gram stated that Norway will provide an additional NASAM (Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System) support package, including two additional fire control centers, two launch units, and spare parts. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida noted that Japan will provide Ukraine with $30 million in non-lethal equipment including drone detection systems.

[ Full ISW assessment of the war as of July 12, 2023 ]

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