Ukraine's Counteroffensives in the 69th Week of War: Progress, Resistance, and Allies' Support

The war in Ukraine entered its 69th week with Ukraine making slow but steady progress in its counteroffensives. Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said the country had recaptured 113-square kilometres (44sq miles) of territory over the past week, with Russian troops putting up a furious resistance, firing an estimated 5,800 artillery rounds and 277,000 bullet rounds. Russia claimed to have repelled Ukraine’s 263 attacks, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared “only liberated” positions, not lost ones. On the ground, Ukraine was focusing its offensives on Bakhmut and Donetsk city in the east, and advancing 7km into Russian-held territory towards Melitopol in the south.

Russia also claimed to have inflicted materiel losses, citing successful strikes at depots of Western-manufactured military hardware, as well as destruction of nine tanks and 20 armoured fighting vehicles south of Orikhiv. Ukraine emphasised Russian manpower shortages, as well as the use of obsolete T-62 tanks and Storm-Z units of prison inmates. Ukraine’s allies gradually shifted to longer-term pledges of military and financial assistance, with Canada pledging $500mn in new funding, 288 AIM-7 air-to-air missiles, artillery ammunition, training and maintenance for F-16s, and the European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen proposing a budget of 50 billion euros to assist Ukraine over the next four years.

Russia warned Ukraine against using US-made HIMARS and UK-made Storm Shadow missiles against annexed Ukrainian territory, threatening immediate retaliatory strikes at decision-making centres in Ukrainian territory. Ukraine has not confirmed or denied any of these alleged losses, with President Zelenskyy simply noting that the long-range Storm Shadow missiles provided by Britain were “now doing a very useful and accurate job at the front”.