“The initiative lies in the hands of our soldiers, in the hands of Ukraine,” the Ukrainian president wrote on Telegram, quoted by the Efe agency.
He also added that “Ukrainian heroism” will be the key factor in determining “how the war will end.”
Hours earlier, Zelensky had announced the liberation by his forces of the small town of Andriivka, south of Bakhmut, considered key to the siege of that city.
“Our soldiers liberated Andriivka,” Zelensky said, stating that this is an important and expected result.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine also said that “Ukrainian troops during offensive operations captured Andriivka in the Donetsk region, inflicted significant losses of personnel and equipment on the enemy and consolidated their new positions.”
Ukrainian commander Maksym Zhorin explained that control of Andriivka is essential for Kiev’s forces to advance towards Bakhmut.
However, today the Russian military denied these claims and stated that Kiev’s forces failed in their attempts to drive the Russian army out of Andriivka.
“On the Donetsk front, the enemy persists in its plans to encircle Atyromovsk (Bakhmut’s Russian name) and continues its offensive actions (…) trying, without success, to withdraw the Russian forces from the cities of Andriivka and Klishchiivka to drive out,” according to the latest Russian military report.
According to Moscow, its forces have repelled a total of 34 Ukrainian attacks in this direction over the past week.
Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February last year, claimed control of Bakhmut in May following the intervention of mercenaries from the Wagner group. After abandoning their positions, these elements transferred operational command to Russian forces.
The Ukrainian army has been leading a counter-offensive since early June, aiming to repel Russian forces in the east and south, but is confronted with powerful defense lines consisting of trenches, minefields and anti-tank traps.
Ukrainian pressure has increased in recent weeks, especially on the southern front, with the capture of the village of Robotyne, towards the city of Tokmak, a key logistics point for the Russian forces.
The military offensive that Russia launched in Ukraine on February 24, 2022 caused the worst refugee crisis in Europe since World War II (1939-1945), according to the most recent UN data.
The Russian invasion – justified by Russian President Vladimir Putin on the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security – was condemned by most of the international community, which responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and impose political and economic sanctions on Russia.
Source: DN
