The Ukrainian army managed to break through Russian troops’ defense lines near Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, a senior Ukrainian army commander said on Monday, while Kiev on Sunday claimed the village of Klitchivka south of the Russian-controlled city claimed.
However, General Oleksandr Syrsky, commander of Ukrainian ground forces, said violent clashes continued near Klitchivka and Andrivka, a village a few kilometers further south that Kiev said it recaptured last Friday. Moscow has not said that it has lost any of these villages.
“These, at first glance, small towns were important elements of the enemy defense lines that stretched from Bakhmout to Horlivka,” said Oleksandr Syrsky about the town, about forty kilometers from Bakhmout, which has been controlled by the Russian army since last May after a bloody siege will last several months. “Thanks to the successful actions of our troops, the enemy’s defensive line, which he tried to close by sending all available reserves into battle, was broken,” the general added via Telegram message.
Klitschivka, key city
On Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a daily video address: “He especially congratulates the soldiers who are gradually returning to Ukraine what belongs to it, namely the Bakhmut region.”
The tactical importance of the village of Klitchivka was highlighted by an army spokesman, Ilia Yevlach, who said on television that the advance exposed Bakhmut’s southern flank and led to further gains. However, Russia still controls large parts of eastern and southern Ukraine under a so-called “special military operation” launched in February 2022 that Kiev and its allies denounce as an invasion.
Last June, Ukraine launched a counteroffensive aimed at recapturing Russian-controlled territory. She managed to recapture villages, but no larger towns. Volodymyr Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials have in the past rejected Western criticism that the counteroffensive was too slow and riddled with strategic errors. The Ukrainian army has recaptured 51 square kilometers of territory near Bakhmut since the start of its counteroffensive, said Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar, who was fired from her post later in the day as part of a reshuffle at the ministry.