1 Instute for the Study of War and AEI’s Crical Threats Project 2023
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, June 13, 2023
Kateryna Stepanenko, Riley Bailey, Nicole Wolkov, George Barros, and Mason Clark
June 13, 2023, 8:35pm 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 2:30pm ET on June 13. ISW will cover
subsequent reports in the June 14 Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment.
Ukrainian forces continued counteroffensive operations in at least three directions and
made further limited territorial gains on June 13. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna
Malyar reported that Ukrainian forces advanced by 250 meters northeast of Bakhmut and by 200
meters south of Bakhmut.[1] Malyar also reported that Ukrainian forces advanced 500-1,000m in the
past 24 hours around the administrative border between Zaporizhia and Donetsk oblasts, liberating
around three square kilometers of territory in the area.[2] Ukrainian General Staff Spokesperson
Andriy Kovalev reported that Ukrainian forces have liberated over 100 square kilometers of territory
since beginning counteroffensive operations.[3] Wagner financier Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed on June
13 that he assesses that Ukrainian forces have likely liberated more than 100 square kilometers.[4]
Russian sources claimed that Ukrainian forces continued ground assaults southwest of Orikhiv and
south of Hulyaipole in western Zaporizhia Oblast on the night of June 12 to 13.[5] Russian sources
widely reported that the tempo of Ukrainian operations in the Orikhiv area has declined in recent
days.[6]Ukrainian Ministry of Defense Environmental Safety Department and Mine Action
representative Major Vladyslav Dudar reported on June 13 that Russian forces are regularly
destroying small dams in localized areas of southern Ukraine to disrupt Ukrainian counteroffensive
operations.[7]
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with 18 prominent Russian milbloggers and war
correspondents to discuss the progress of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on June
13.[8] Putin largely met with milbloggers closely associated with the All-Russia State Television and
Radio Broadcasting Company and other state-owned outlets, notably excluding milbloggers who have
been more critical of Putin’s war effort.[9] Putin addressed several key milblogger concerns relating to
the Ukrainian counteroffensive, Russian objectives in Ukraine, Russian mobilization and the
possibility of imposing martial law, the formalization of private military companies (PMCs), and
hostile incursions into Belgorod Oblast.
Putin discussed the progress of the Ukrainian counteroffensive and signaled that he
believes Russia can outlast Western military support for Ukraine. Putin stated that
Russian objectives have not fundamentally changed, reiterating boilerplate and false narratives
accusing Ukraine and NATO of initiating the war.[10] Putin added that the West can push Ukraine
into negotiations with Russia by stopping the supplies of military aid to Ukraine.[11] Putin noted that
Ukrainian forces launched a ”massive” counteroffensive on June 4 and noted that Ukrainian forces
attacked in southwestern Donetsk and Zaporizhia oblasts, claiming they suffered significant losses.
