War maps of Ukraine show two “successful local counterattacks” by Kyiv

According to a new assessment, Ukrainian forces have carried out “tactically significant and successful local counterattacks” against Russian troops along two sectors of the front line, while NATO member states pledged future support for Kyiv’s war effort against Moscow.

Ukrainian fighters launched a counterattack along the border of the northeastern region of Kharkiv and around Kreminna, a Russian-controlled city in the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk near the border with Donetsk, the US think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said on Wednesday.

In early May, Moscow launched a cross-border offensive in the Kharkiv region, quickly capturing a handful of villages across the border, including those north of Kharkiv city. Kharkiv is Ukraine’s second-largest city, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv “cannot afford to lose Kharkiv.”

Russian troops also attacked further east along the border, around the town of Vovchansk and Starytsia, a settlement southwest of Vovchansk.

Ukrainian officials warned that Russia was seeking to divvy up Kyiv’s scarce resources by pulling troops and equipment from other parts of the front line. Ukraine said shortly after the offensive began that it had halted Russia’s advance, but reported increased advances from Moscow in the east of the country.

According to ISW, Ukraine has been conducting counterattacks along the border with Kharkiv and around Kreminna for about two months. Russia has withdrawn parts of its forces from other parts of Ukraine, the think tank said. This is a “strong indication that Russian forces are beginning to feel the pressure of Ukrainian counterattacks.”

Newsweek The Russian Defense Ministry asked for comment via email.

The ISW had previously said that Ukraine had recaptured positions north of Kharkiv, while Russia was still making slow but steady progress in the east. Russia had “recently advanced slightly northwest of Kreminna” while advancing from the Kharkiv town of Kupiansk to Svatove, a town in Luhansk north of Kreminna, the think tank said.

Kyiv’s ability to “launch stronger and more organized counterattacks” depends on Western military aid, the ISW said.

To sustain its war effort, Ukraine relies heavily on security assistance from its international backers, not least the United States. To keep its own war machine running, Russia quickly mobilized its defense industry, and Western officials say Moscow has obtained weapons from allies such as North Korea, China and Iran.

In late April, after months of delays and political infighting, the U.S. House of Representatives approved more than $60 billion in military aid to Ukraine. During the delay in Congress approving the aid, Ukrainian forces struggled to maintain supplies of essential goods such as ammunition and anti-aircraft missiles.

“I apologize for not knowing what was going on with funding for weeks,” President Joe Biden told Zelensky in early June.

Ukraine’s NATO backers used this week’s summit in Washington to announce new aid to Kyiv, including four Patriot air defense systems and “dozens” of other air defense systems over the next few months.

NATO also confirmed on Wednesday that its members would provide a “minimum base funding” of over $43 billion in security assistance to Ukraine next year.

In addition, the United States, the Netherlands and Denmark announced that the first of the F-16 fighter jets promised by Ukraine were on their way to Kyiv.