Ukraine’s armed forces declared Friday that the village of Andriivka near the vital frontline town of Bakhmut had been liberated, a day after allegations that it had been retaken were deemed premature.
On Thursday, Ganna Malyar, Ukraine’s Deputy Defence Minister, retracted a claim that Kyiv had taken control of the eastern village from Russian forces when Ukrainian troops on the ground said the battle was still underway. However, Ukraine’s General Staff announced on Friday that the village was once again under Ukrainian control.
On Facebook, it stated, “In the direction of Bakhmut, the enemy does not stop trying to break through the defence of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the area of Bogdanivka”.
“In turn, the defence forces had partial success in the Klishchiivka area during offensive operations. In the course of the assault, they liberated Andriivka in Donetsk region, inflicted significant losses on the enemy in terms of manpower and equipment, and entrenched at the occupied frontiers”, it continued.
Andriivka is located 14 kilometres (nine miles) south of Bakhmut and had a pre-war population of less than 100 people.
Kyiv began pushing back against Moscow’s forces in the country’s south and east in June after stockpiling Western weapons and recruiting assault battalions.
Malyar declared the village of Andriivka was ‘ours’ on Thursday, adding Kyiv’s soldiers were moving forward in the Bakhmut sector.
Ukrainian soldiers battling in the area then denied the announcement.
On social media, the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, fighting in the Donetsk region, stated, “The statement about the capture of Andriivka is premature”.
“There are serious and important battles in the areas of Klishchivka and Andriivka”, the statement stated describing the remark as ‘unfair’.
In an updated post, Malyar stated that she was clarifying the situation, and blamed the announcement on a communication breakdown.
Malyar announced on Telegram on Friday that the General Staff had officially confirmed that our troops captured Andriivka yesterday as a result of fighting.
“It was difficult and the situation changed very dynamically several times yesterday”, Malyar continued.
Bakhmut, a town of 70,000 people, was captured by Russian soldiers in May after one of the longest and bloodiest confrontations of Russia’s invasion.
Ukrainian forces, on the other hand, began pushing back around the city’s northern and southern sides almost immediately and have been making modest gains.
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