MOSCOW: Russia declared on Saturday that its forces remained in control of Andriivka, a village situated close to the critical frontline town of Bakhmut. This statement comes in response to Ukraine’s claim of “liberating” the village and inflicting significant casualties on enemy troops the day before. Andriivka is approximately 14 kilometers (nine miles) to the south of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, where Kyiv has been steadily resisting Moscow’s forces since June.
Ukraine’s General Staff had announced on Friday that they had regained control of the village. However, Russia’s defense ministry, in its daily bulletin, countered this by stating that “in the Donetsk sector, the enemy persists in launching assaults, attempting unsuccessfully to dislodge Russian troops in the areas of Andriivka and Klishchiivka.” This conflicting information adds to the confusion surrounding the situation in the village, which had only a handful of residents before Russia’s offensive.
On Thursday, Ukraine’s deputy defense minister, Ganna Malyar, reversed an earlier announcement made earlier in the day that Kyiv had retaken Andriivka, citing ongoing fighting reported by troops on the ground. A spokesperson for a brigade engaged in the area stated on Ukrainian television on Friday that the village had been “completely destroyed,” and he added that “Andriivka no longer exists.”
Bakhmut, the nearby city that was once home to approximately 70,000 people, fell into Russian forces’ hands in May after one of the most protracted and bloodiest battles of Russia’s invasion. However, Ukrainian forces swiftly began pushing back along the city’s northern and southern flanks, achieving incremental gains.