(Kyiv) Ukrainian troops have broken through the Russian defense line near Bakhmut (east), the commander of Kyiv’s ground troops, General Oleksandr Syrsky, said on Monday.
What there is to know
- Ukrainian troops have broken through the Russian defense line near Bakhmut (east), the commander of Kyiv’s ground troops, General Oleksandr Syrsky, said on Monday.
- Ukraine claimed Monday the liberation of 7 km2 in one week in the east and south occupied by the Russian army;
- The Ukrainian army announced Monday that it had shot down 18 drones and 17 missiles launched by Russia during new nighttime attacks against its neighbor;
- Several Ukrainian deputy defense ministers were fired Monday following the dismissal two weeks ago of Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov;
- Georgia has accused a senior Ukrainian official of plotting a coup to overthrow the Caucasus country’s government;
- The human rights situation “has significantly deteriorated” in Russia since the invasion of Ukraine, according to the UN;
- An explosive drone was found for the first time in Bulgaria, on the Black Sea coast, pointing to “an increase in risks linked to the war in Ukraine”;
- Moscow has lambasted Kyiv, calling the Ukrainian government “Russophobic and neo-Nazi” before the International Court of Justice.
After the recapture of the village of Andriïvka and Klichchiïvka, “the enemy’s defense line was pierced”, declared Mr. Syrsky, quoted by the army press center.
These small towns “were an important element of the Russian defense line which extends from Bakhmut to Gorlivka,” he added.
The 72e31e and 83 Russian brigades “were destroyed and completely lost (their) combat capability” in the battles near Bakhmut, General Syrsky said.
“The general situation in the eastern zone remains complicated” and “fierce fighting near Bakhmout continues,” the soldier admitted, however.
After the loss of the two localities near Bakhmut, the Russian army “led numerous counterattacks” hoping to “recapture lost positions” and prepared to renew its attacks further north, in the area of Koupiansk and Lyman, emphasized Mr. Syrsky.
Ukraine announced the recapture of Andriïvka on Friday and Klichtchiïvka on Sunday, both located south of the town of Bakhmut.
A town of 70,000 inhabitants before the invasion launched by Russia in February 2022, Bakhmout was conquered last May by Russian forces after one of the longest and bloodiest battles of this war.
Ukraine launched a counter-offensive in June to retake territories occupied by Russia, after receiving Western weapons and training new battalions.
Ukrainian forces almost immediately began to regain ground on the northern and southern flanks of this city.
Strikes and “acts of sabotage”
The Russian army, for its part, claimed in its daily report to have bombed storage sites in Ukraine for Storm Shadow cruise missiles and depleted uranium munitions, two types of weapons supplied by London.
“The objective of the strike was achieved. All facilities were affected,” the Russian Defense Ministry said.
Russia also announced that it had shot down several Ukrainian drones overnight in annexed Crimea, in the Moscow region as well as in Belgorod and Voronezh, close to Ukraine. A type of attack that has become almost daily.
The pro-Russian authorities in Donetsk, a stronghold of separatists in eastern Ukraine, for their part reported a Ukrainian strike having damaged the municipal administration building.
A video posted on social media showed large plumes of smoke escaping from the building.
In Russia itself, the security services declared that they had arrested in a region bordering Ukraine two members of a pro-Ukrainian armed group who were “preparing acts of sabotage”, at the time when “they were preparing to launch fire at an administrative building.
This group, the “Freedom of Russia” Legion, was behind several armed incursions into regions bordering Ukraine.
Diplomatic visits
With their counter-offensive, Ukrainian troops are striving, in the east as in the south, to cut the Russian army’s logistical lines. However, their progress was slow, facing minefields, trenches and anti-tank traps.
American Chief of Staff Mark Milley said on Sunday that this operation had “not failed”, contrary to what President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly assured, but that a conflict should be expected. very long.
On the diplomatic level, Volodymyr Zelensky will be received at the White House on Thursday for new discussions with his American counterpart Joe Biden, whose country is the main military and financial support of Kyiv.
On the other hand, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is expected in Russia from Monday until Thursday for talks devoted to “security”.
Wang Yi must in particular meet his counterpart Sergei Lavrov, the two men having to “focus their efforts on strengthening collaboration on the international scene”, according to Moscow.
This Chinese visit to Russia follows that last week of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who expressed his “sincere thanks” to Vladimir Putin on Monday.
Mr Kim’s trip to the Russian Far East, which ended on Sunday, resulted in “no agreement”, the Kremlin said, but revealed potential military ties between the two countries.
The trip has revived Western fears that Pyongyang is supplying Moscow with weapons and ammunition for its war in Ukraine.
The two leaders went so far as to symbolically offer each other a rifle.
