The Ukrainian army has reported the recapture of a village south of the Russian-occupied city of Bakhmut in the east of the country. The town of Andriivka, about ten kilometers from Bakhmut, was taken, causing heavy losses to the enemy. The Ukrainian General Staff announced this in its morning situation report.
There had been contradictory information about the situation in Andriivka the day before. Troops deployed on site denied information from the Kiev leadership that the location on a railway line was already under Ukrainian control. The situation was very dynamic and changed several times during the day, wrote Deputy Defense Ministry Hanna Maljar on Telegram on Friday.
The Russian army and the Wagner mercenary force brought Bakhmut under control in May after months of fighting with heavy losses. The Ukrainian troops held out the defense of the completely destroyed city so that the Russian army could wear itself out. In their counteroffensive, the Ukrainians are now trying to advance on the flanks of Bakhmut.
Ukraine has been defending itself against a Russian invasion for over a year and a half.