2023-09-15 07:33:05
kyiv, Ukraine (AP) — As part of a combined counteroffensive, Ukrainian forces recaptured a town in the country’s east following heavy fighting with Russian troops, the military said Friday.
Andriivka, which is regarding 10 kilometers (6 miles) south of the Russian-occupied city of Bakhmut in eastern Donetsk province, is Kiev’s latest victory in a counteroffensive in which progress has been slow but steady. .
The General Staff of the Ukrainian armed forces announced the recapture of Andriivka in the early hours of Friday.
The 3rd Assault Brigade said it captured the town following surrounding the Russian garrison deployed there in what it described as a “lightning operation” and destroying it over two days. He described the operation as a breakthrough on Bakhmut’s southern flank and noted that it is “key to success in all other directions.”
Hours before confirming the capture of Andriivka, the brigade refuted a statement from Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar that announced the recovery of the town.
“It was complicated and the situation yesterday changed very dynamically on several occasions,” Maliar said.
The fighting in and around Bakhmut, a salt-mined city that was completely razed, was the longest and bloodiest of the war.
After Russian troops, led by mercenaries from the Wagner Group, took control of Bakhmut in May, Ukrainian forces have tried to encircle it from the south and north, advancing meter (yard) in the last three months.
Andriivka is located between the settlements of Kurdiumivka and the Klischiivka heights, in the Donetsk region, where fighting has been especially intense. The Ukrainian General Staff said its forces caused heavy losses to the Russian side in the offensive for the nearby town of Klishchiivka.
According to Maliar, the Ukrainian army has recaptured 50 square kilometers (19 square miles) of land around Bakhmut since the start of the counteroffensive in June.
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