Ukrainian troops had “partial success” near the village of Klishchiivka, just southwest of Bakhmut.
Kyiv:
Ukrainian troops have advanced more than a kilometer against Russian troops near the eastern city of Bakhmut over the past day, a military spokesman said on Friday.
His remarks were Kiev’s last and indicated that the counter-offensive it launched in early June is making steady progress, although Russian accounts of fighting in the Bakhmut sector differ from Ukraine’s.
“The armed forces there continue to take the initiative, put pressure on the enemy, conduct offensive operations and advance along the northern and southern flanks,” military spokesman Serhiy Cherevatyi told Ukrainian television.
“In the last day in particular, they have progressed more than a kilometer.”
A spokesman for the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said Ukrainian forces had “partial success” near the village of Klishchiivka, just southwest of Bakhmut.
Ukrainian military analysts have said securing Klishchiivka would help Ukraine take back the shattered small town of Bakhmut, taken by Russian forces in May after 10 months of heavy fighting.
Russia’s RIA news agency earlier this week cited a Russian military source as saying that Moscow troops had repelled a Ukrainian attack on Klishchiivka and were clearing remaining Ukrainian troops in the area.
Reuters could not independently verify the situation on the battlefield.
Moscow, which began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than 16 months ago, sees Bakhmut as a springboard to attack other cities. Russia still holds Bakhmut, but both sides say heavy fighting is raging in the area, with Ukrainian troops hoping to encircle the town.
Kiev says it has recaptured a cluster of villages in the south since the launch of the counter-offensive, but fierce resistance and minefields have slowed the forces’ progress. Russia still controls large parts of eastern and southeastern Ukraine.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is being published from a syndicated feed.)