[ad_1]
Kiev said on Thursday its forces were slowly making progress around Bakhmut and engaged in “heavy” fighting with Russian forces around the troubled eastern Ukrainian town.
Ukrainian ground forces commander Oleksandr Syrskyi posted on social media: “We have made progress near Bakhmut and are continuing. We are moving forward.”
Russian forces, assisted by fighters from Wagner’s mercenary group, declared the occupation of Bakhmut in May. The town, once home to around 80,000 people, has been destroyed after months of hard fighting.
Ukrainian forces have been laying grain around the city’s flanks since announcing a much-anticipated counteroffensive earlier this month.
Deputy Defense Minister Ghana Malial said separately on Thursday that Ukrainian forces had seized “combat advantages” around Bakhmut and were on the offensive.
“In this fierce battle, our troops are devouring every meter of the enemy’s land,” she said in a statement, adding: “They are making progress”.
“The enemy tried to hold his ground and counterattacked, but gradually retreated after suffering losses.”
The Russian Ministry of Defense recently did not acknowledge any lost ground around Bakhmut and said in its latest military briefing that it was repelling a Ukrainian attack on areas east of Donetsk.
Complete occupation of the industrial zone is now Moscow’s main military objective in an invasion launched last February in which the Kremlin claimed Donetsk and three other Ukrainian regions as part of Russia.
Moscow said last week that Ukrainian forces were taking advantage of an attempted uprising by Wagner’s forces inside Russia to prepare an attack around Bakhmut.
[ad_2]
Source link