Land gains near Bachmut
Ukraine reports “hot fighting” in the east
08/21/2023, 12:17 p.m
According to their own statements, Kiev’s armed forces are making up more ground around the city of Bakhmut. According to Deputy Defense Minister Maljar, bitter fighting is taking place further south. The Ukrainian defense lines are holding in the Kupyansk area, the minister said.
According to the Ukrainian army, it has gained further territory near the Russian-controlled city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region. “Ukrainian forces advanced further on the southern flank around Bakhmut in the past week and liberated three square kilometers,” Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maljar said in a statement. A total of 43 square kilometers around Bakhmut had been recaptured by Russian troops since June. Counterattacks by the Russian side were successfully repelled.
Fighting continues near Klishchiyivka, south of Andriyivka and north of Kurdyumivka. “There is hot fighting going on there as of now, and the army is advancing gradually and steadily,” Maljar said. There was also hard fighting on the southern sections of the front. The situation there has not changed significantly. “Our defenders keep advancing towards Berdyansk and Melitopol,” said Malyar. A total of 44 prisoners were taken in the past week.
In north-eastern Ukraine, in the Kupyansk region, the only sector of the front where Russian troops are attacking, Ukrainian defenses are holding up well, Maljar said. Evacuations have begun in the area. “All the battles of the past week ended with the enemy being defeated, the enemy did not advance there,” said the deputy defense minister.
Russia controls more than 100,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory, including the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which was illegally annexed in 2014; that’s about a sixth of the country’s area. In early June, Ukraine launched a major counter-offensive to liberate the occupied territories. So far, however, this has fallen short of the high expectations. Most recently, Kiev has admitted difficulties in advancing against Russian forces, which have been able to strengthen their defenses in the occupied territories, including with tank traps and mines.