Several hours earlier, the head of the presidential office in Kiev, Andriy Yermak, published a photo on Telegram that purportedly showed Ukrainian soldiers in the city in the Donetsk region. “Ukraine always recovers,” wrote Yermak. Ukrainian media located the image based on, among other things, the impressive church in Klishchiyivka, a town south of the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region. There has been heavy fighting around the village in recent weeks.
The Lyut brigade released a video in which it also announced the capture of the town immediately south of the city of Bakhmut. “But the enemy continues to try to reoccupy them,” said one of the soldiers, who held the Ukrainian flag and the flags of participating military units in front of the camera. The constant noise of battle can be heard in the background. So far there have been no comments from the Russian side. Reports from conflicting parties often cannot initially be independently verified.
debate
Ukraine: What can be achieved militarily?
Second partial success after Andriivka
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has not yet officially announced Klishchiyivka’s release. The site was occupied by the Russians in January 2023. According to its own statements, the Kiev military recently recaptured the nearby town of Andriivka. According to the photos, not much is left of the place as a result of the intense fighting.
Russian occupiers are threatened with a pincer attack
Ukraine’s capture of Klishchiivka would significantly worsen the tactical situation of the Russian occupiers in Bakhmut, who now risk being held in a pincer position from the south and north. The Russians and Ukrainians fought for Bakhmut for a good six months. On the part of the Russian armed forces, mercenaries from Wagner’s private army were mainly used here. At the end of May, Russia declared the city conquered.
A forced withdrawal from the city would not only be a serious defeat strategically, but also psychologically, after many months of costly fighting. It could also further exacerbate existing tensions within the Russian military.
Also on the Ukrainian side, the fighting around Bakhmut and the counter-offensive in the south are causing numerous injuries and deaths. In particular, the many mines that Russia planted to protect the front caused numerous injuries and deaths.
According to US Chief of Staff Mark Milley, Kiev “did not fail” in its counteroffensive. “You did not fail. I know there are some comments that this offensive has failed in some way. She didn’t fail,” Milley told US broadcaster CNN in an interview broadcast on Sunday. There have been partial successes and Ukraine also has great combat power. The counteroffensive progressed more slowly than expected, Milley said. But she was “steady”.
Kiev: New attacks on Odessa and Mykolaiv
Meanwhile, Russia attacked southern Ukraine again with drones and cruise missiles on Sunday night. “All six drones were destroyed, four over the Mykolaiv region, two over the Odessa region,” the Ukrainian Southern Command reported on Telegram. At the same time, she admitted that although five Ch-101/Ch-555 cruise missiles were intercepted, some other agricultural objects in the Odessa region were hit.
The military did not report the exact number of hits. The military governor of Odessa, Oleh Kiper, also confirmed the impacts on Telegram in the morning. According to him, barns, among other things, were hit in the Berezivka district. Fortunately, there were no deaths or injuries, he said.
Since the agreement to transport Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea expired, Russia has increasingly attacked the infrastructure of the Black Sea areas of southern Ukraine. Ports and granaries are the main target of attacks.