1 Institute for the Study of War & AEI’s Critical Threats Project 2023
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment
Riley Bailey, Grace Mappes, Kateryna Stepanenko, and Mason Clark
June 17, 2023, 6:30 pm ET
Click here to see ISW’s interactive map of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This map is updated
daily alongside the static maps present in this report.
Click here to access ISW’s archive of interactive time-lapse maps of the Russian invasion of
Ukraine. These maps complement the static control-of-terrain map that ISW produces daily by
showing a dynamic frontline. ISW will update this time-lapse map archive monthly.
Note: The data cutoff for this product was 2 pm ET on June 17. ISW will cover subsequent reports
in the June 18 Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment.
Ukrainian forces continued counteroffensive actions on at least four sectors of the front on June
17. The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) and other Russian sources claimed that Ukrainian forces conducted
localized ground attacks west and south of Kreminna.
Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar stated
that Ukrainian forces continue counteroffensive operations near Bakhmut, and Russian sources claimed that
Ukrainian forces attacked on the northern and southern outskirts of Bakhmut.
The Russian MoD and other
Russian sources also claimed that Russian forces repelled limited Ukrainian ground attacks on the Avdiivka-
Donetsk City line.
Ukrainian forces continued counteroffensive operations south, southwest, and southeast of
Velyka Novosilka near the administrative border between western Donetsk and eastern Zaporizhia oblasts.
Ukrainian forces also conducted counteroffensive operations southwest and southeast of Orikhiv in western
Zaporizhia Oblast.
Malyar also stated that Ukrainian forces advanced up to two kilometers in multiple
unspecified directions in southern Ukraine.
A delegation representing seven African states met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St
Petersburg on June 17, following a meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky on June 16, to
propose a generalized peace plan focused on resuming international trade. The Egyptian prime
minister, a Ugadan presidential envoy, and the presidents of South Africa, Zambia, Comoros, the Republic of the
Congo, and Senegal previously visited Kyiv and met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on June 16,
and notably had to take shelter during Russian missile strikes targeting Kyiv.
South African President Cyril
Ramaphosa corrected his spokesperson’s earlier denials that Russian forces did not conduct attacks on Kyiv
during the visit and acknowledged that “such activity does not bode well for establishing peace.”
Ramaphosa
presented a ten-point generalized peace plan on June 16 calling for an end to hostilities and a negotiated peace
settlement that would respect sovereignty and establish security guarantees for both Ukraine and Russia.
The
proposal also calls for securing the movement of grain and fertilizers from both Ukraine and Russia and closer
cooperation with African states.
Zelensky reiterated that negotiations are only possible after the complete
withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine and that Ukraine will not pursue negotiated settlements reminiscent
of the Minsk Accords.
Putin stated that the Kremlin welcomes the African states’ “balanced” approach to resolving the war in Ukraine
in his meeting with the delegation, but did not comment on the feasibility of Ramaphosa’s suggested peace plan.
President of Comoros and current African Union Chairperson Azali Asoumani notably used language similar to
the Kremlin’s preferred ”Russian world” rhetoric about the war in Ukraine while meeting with Putin, stating that
stability in Eastern Europe, Africa, and the world depends on fraternal relationships between neighboring Slavic
“friendly nations.”
Asoumani also highlighted that peace in Ukraine is important for addressing international
food and energy security.
Asoumani’s comments and the peace plan’s inclusion of grain shipment guarantees
suggest the states involved in the proposal view resolving the economic fallout from the war in Ukraine as their
