Ukraine troops capture village south of Bakhmut, military says

On Friday, the Ukrainian military announced that its troops had taken control of a town close to Bakhmut. This eastern city had been under Russian control since May after being siege for a significant time.

In a report released in the morning, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces stated that the Russian side had sustained substantial deaths and losses of equipment. At the same time, Ukrainian troops had successfully fortified several sectors.

According to the statement made by the General Staff, “in the course of assault operations, they seized Andriivka in the Donetsk region.”

Andriivka is a small village that can be found to the south of Bakhmut, which was the location of the bloodiest fight since Russia’s invasion in February of the previous year. The General Staff also claimed a “partial success” near the settlement of Klishchiivka, which is located south of Bakhmut.

During its counteroffensive, which has been going on for the past three months, Ukraine has reported making sluggish but steady progress against the entrenched Russian lines. They have recaptured several villages andanced on the flanks of Bakhmut.

Critics in the West who argue that the offensive is moving at too slow of a pace and is being hampered by strategic errors have been refuted by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and other officials.

On Thursday, the Deputy Defense Minister of Ukraine, Hanna Maliar, initially declared that Andriivka had been brought under Ukrainian control. However, she later stated this information was erroneous because fighting was still happening near the village.

General Staff spokesman Andriy Kovaliov said in televised statements that Ukrainian troops continued to thwart a Russian onslaught in the Donetsk region, headed towards the villages of Avdiivka and Maryinka. Kovaliov reported this in the Donetsk region. He reported that the defenders had successfully fended all Russian attacks in Maryinka.
Near Verbove in the Zaporizhzhia area, the General Staff reported that their men were causing significant casualties to the opposing forces on the southern front.

Reuters could not verify the reports from the battlefield, and Russia has not confirmed the advances made by the Ukrainians.