Kyiv counteroffensive ‘very difficult’ and ‘not surprising’ it will take time, says senior NATO commander

It is not “No wonder” Admiral Rob Bauer, head of NATO’s military council, said on Monday (July 3) that the Ukrainian counteroffensive was not progressing quickly enough. “A counteroffensive is difficult. It should never be thought of as an easy operation (…) There is a significant number of Russians in Ukraine. There are enormous obstacles to defense”, he urged the Supreme Commander of the Atlantic Alliance. Follow our life.

About 37 km2 was taken in the east and south. Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Khanna Maliar said Monday that Kiev’s armed forces have recaptured 37 km2 of territory in eastern and southern Ukraine from Russian forces in a week. in the south, “Liberated territories increased by 28.4 km2”, he said, bringing the total area recovered in the area to 158 km2 since the counteroffensive began in early June. According to the same source, in the east, Ukrainian gains reached only nine square kilometers.

An international office to investigate Russia’s invasion has been opened in The Hague. The International Center for the Investigation of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine (ICPA) opened on Monday in The Hague (Netherlands). It brings together lawyers from Ukraine, the European Union, the United States and the International Criminal Court (ICC). This type of case involves investigation and gathering of evidence. It is considered the first step before establishing a special court to try the most senior Russian officials for the outbreak of the war, as requested by Kyiv.

No new mobilization to replace Wagner’s soldiers. Andriy Kartabolov, chairman of the defense committee of the Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, on Monday rejected a new mobilization idea to replace members of Wagner, a paramilitary group that does not fight in Ukraine. “President of the Russian Federation [Vladimir Poutine] clearly, comprehensibly and specifically stated that there would be no further mobilization”He told state-owned firm Tass. “There is no need for mobilization today and in the future.”

Kyiv says it is fighting “tough battles” against Moscow as it advances in the east. Ukraine acknowledged the situation on Sunday, a month after launching a counteroffensive “difficult” Russian forces are advancing in four areas of the front line in the east of the country. However, Ukrainian forces assured that their forces were advancing in the south. “Enemy advancing in Avdiivka, Marinka, Lyman sectors”Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Khanna Maliar wrote in a telegram. “It is also progressing in the Svatovoe sector.”