“Ukraine always gives back what is theirs”” said the head of the presidential office, Andrii Yermak. The control over this village will have an impact on the balance of forces in that area of the east of the country
Ukrainian forces are seeking to tighten the siege around Bakhmut while continuing the slow but stubborn reconquest of territories in the south of the country, where they are encountering fierce Russian resistance. The authorities announced on Sunday that the village of Klishchiivka, south of Bakhmut, was retaken by local troops.
Maliar specified that in the area of Klishchivka, one of the suburbs of Bakhmut, as a result of the offensive actions, the Ukrainian forces “succeeded,” without offering further details.
The head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andrii Yermak, published, for his part, a photo of Ukrainian soldiers with the country’s flag made, allegedly, in Klishchivka.
“Ukraine always returns what is its own”” Yermak wrote, hinting at the seizure of the locality, which the Ukrainian General Staff has not yet commented on. He added: “Klishchiivka is Ukraine. I am grateful to the soldiers for the vacating of Ukrainian land””
“Klishchiivka was cleansed of Russians”” Oleksander Syrskyi, commander of the Ukrainian army’s ground forces, said on social media.
The announcement came after Ukraine’s armed forces said on Friday that the village of Andriivka, also located south of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut (east), had been retaken.
The control over Klishchivka, less than 10 kilometers from Bakhmut, will have a serious impact on the balance of forces in that area and will allow the Ukrainians to strike blows at the Russian rear.
Russia, for the moment, has also not officially commented on the situation in that village, and its military bloggers have been divided between those who consider the locality lost and those who insist that the fate of the village is not yet cast.
In turn, according to Kiev, its forces also had successes in the direction of Melitopol, in the south, where they inflicted significant losses on Russian forces, “forcing them to withdraw from the occupied positions,” Maliar noted.
At the same time, Kiev is maintaining pressure on Moscow with drone attacks on Russian territory.
