Ukrainian army liberated two square kilometers near Bakhmut last week – deputy defense minister

On the Bakhmut front, during the past week, from September 11 to 17, Ukrainian soldiers liberated two square kilometers of territory. In total, the freed area near Bakhmut is 51 square kilometers.

The Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Hanna Maliar, announced this.

At the Bakhmut line, the invaders repeatedly failed to get through the Ukrainian defenses in Orikhovo–Vasylivka, Bohdanivka, Klishchiivka, and Kurdiumivka in the Donetsk area.

On the front, Ukraine's armed forces released Andriivka and Klishchiivka. At the same time, the Russians are trying with all their might to regain lost positions. Therefore, the Ukrainian army deters enemy attacks there and is entrenched at the achieved frontiers.

"The offensive on the Bakhmut front is carried out by the forces with which we defend ourselves. That is, without creating an offensive group, without using additional resources and material means," said Maliar.

The situation in other areas of the front

At the Kupiansk battlefront, the Russians searched for ways to break through the Ukrainian defenses. Ukrainian troops held off the aggressors' assault in the Novoselivskyi district of the Luhansk region.

On the Lyman front, the Russian occupying forces continued to regroup troops; they did not conduct offensive actions there.

On the Avdiivka and Mariinka fronts, the Russians are trying in vain to establish complete control over Mariinka and surround Avdiivka in the Donetsk region.

The Russian forces conducted fruitless offensives in the Keramik, Avdiivka, Sievierne, and Mariinka districts of the Donetsk region.

On the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson fronts, the occupiers defend themselves and continue shelling. Ukraine's defense forces repelled Russian attacks in the Novomykhailivka, Novodarivka, and Novodanylivka regions of the Zaporizhzhia region.

In the South, Ukraine's armed forces continue to conduct an offensive operation on the Melitopol front. There is success in the area to the south and east of Robotyne — now, the Ukrainian forces are entrenched there on the achieved boundaries.

During the week, the Defense Forces in the south liberated 5.2 square kilometers of territory.

Overall, the area covered is 261.7 square kilometers since the start of the counteroffensive.

For reference:

As reported, soldiers of Ukraine's armed forces liberated Klishchiivka, Donetsk region. It happened a day after Andriivka was released.

Klishchiivka is located south of Bakhmut, next to Andriivka, which the Ukrainian army liberated on September 15.

Thus, the release of Klishchiivka and Andriivka enables Ukraine's armed forces to continue the operation to encircle Bakhmut. These two villages are vital to cutting the logistical routes of supplying the Russian army to captured Bakhmut from the south. The liberation of these villages will allow Ukrainians to push the Russian forces out of Bakhmut.

It should be noted that the Ukrainian military continues to knock out the enemy from the south of Ukraine. Their goal is to clear the strip from the left bank for at least 10-15 km.

At the same time, Maliar recently noted that the occupiers do not want to leave their lost positions in the south, so the Defense Forces have to protect them from enemy assaults. She said the Defense Forces have had steady success on the Bakhmut front and are advancing in the south.

Since the beginning of the war, Ukrainian defenders have already eliminated almost 272,940 invaders.