Ukraine liberated more territory than it lost in May, military chief Syrskyi

Ukraine's armed forces liberated more territory than they lost during May and carried out coordinated strikes on military-industrial facilities in Moscow and the surrounding region for the first time, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi has said.

In a statement assessing the battlefield situation on Monday, Syrskyi said fighting remained difficult and highly dynamic, with Russian forces continuing attempts to advance in eastern and southern Ukraine.

"The enemy continues its offensive efforts, and the number of combat engagements has increased significantly," Syrskyi said, adding that the heaviest fighting was taking place in the Pokrovsk, Oleksandrivsk and Huliaipole sectors.

Syrskyi added Ukrainian forces have managed to maintain the initiative in certain areas. Following active operations in May, the balance between liberated and lost territory was nearly 100 square kilometres in Ukraine's favour.

He said more than 600 square kilometres of Ukrainian territory had been liberated since the beginning of the year.

Syrskyi also said Ukrainian forces had carried out thousands of successful strikes against Russian military targets over the past month.

According to the military chief, Ukraine's "deep strike" operations in May inflicted direct and indirect economic losses on Russia estimated at around $1.06bn. 

He said the campaign included, for the first time, a series of coordinated attacks on military-industrial, fuel and energy facilities in Moscow and the Moscow region under a unified operational plan.

He added that Ukraine's air defence forces destroyed more than 59,000 aerial targets during the month and repelled 25 missile and air attacks.

Despite those results, Syrskyi stressed that Ukraine continued to require additional modern air defence systems and missiles.

The commander-in-chief also said Ukraine's navy conducted around 1,500 operations in May to ensure the safety of civilian shipping in the combat zone, enabling 633 vessels to pass safely through maritime routes.