The key battles in eastern Ukraine are taking place in the Bakhmut sector, in particular, outside the settlements of Klishchiivka, Andriivka and Kurdiumivka.
Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said this on national television, Ukrinform reports.
“The enemy’s key task is to stop our advance, and the key battles are taking place in the Klishchiivka-Andriiivka-Kurdiumivka area, if we are talking about the Bakhmut direction. And this is the main theater of action in the east,” she said.
According to her, on the eastern front, the enemy uses about 400,000 shells per week, or about 60,000 per day.
“That is, it is a continuous wall of shelling, which our Armed Forces are overcoming and are advancing despite this,” Maliar said.
She said that the Bakhmut sector was successful for Ukrainian forces in the past week, as they advanced daily on the southern flank of the city.
“We freed about four square kilometers of territory there. If we talk about the Bakhmut sector in general, about 35 square kilometers have been freed there,” Maliar said.
At the same time, on the northern flank of the Bakhmut sector, battles for positions continue without any fundamental changes.
“The enemy clings to every centimeter and does not want to give up the positions they occupy,” Maliar said.
According to her, in general, in Bakhmut, the enemy “is in a trap and its maneuverability there is limited by our armed forces.”
She added that during the past week the enemy has been trying to advance on the eastern front.
“Here they were expanding their directions that [they have attempted to expand] since the beginning of the year – Lyman, Bakhmut and Marink and they have been trying to go on the offensive in the Kupiansk sector for more than a week, but they are unable to advance there. On the other hand, fierce battles continue in the Kupiansk direction too. During the past week, they tried to push our units beyond the barrier line of the Oskol River, but their attempts failed,” she said.
Maliar clarified that the enemy is trying to drive Ukrainian troops out of the Serebrianskyi forest in the Lyman direction. Fierce fighting is currently going on there.
In the Melitopol and Berdiansk sectors in southern Ukraine, offensive actions were carried out last week outside the settlements of Novodanylivka, Verbove, Robotyne, Novodarivka, Pryiutne, Mala Tokmachka, and Staromaiorske.
“In this direction, our Armed Forces are engaged in mine clearance, inflict damage on the enemy and are ready to move forward,” Maliar said.
In total, in the past week, Ukrainian soldiers liberated 12 kilometers of territory on the southern front, which is more than 192 square kilometers since the beginning of the war, she said.
Photo: Kostiantyn Liberov
Source: Key battles taking place near Klishchiivka, Andriivka, Kurdiumivka in Bakhmut sector
