Russia has refuted claims that it has been forced out of the village of Andriivka, located near the strategic frontline town of Bakhmut. Ukraine recently stated that it had “liberated” the site and caused significant casualties to enemy troops.
Andriivka is situated approximately 14 kilometers (nine miles) south of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, where Kyiv has been resisting the forces of Moscow since June.
The Ukrainian General Staff announced on Friday that the village was under Ukrainian control once again.
However, Russia’s defense ministry reported in its daily bulletin that “in the Donetsk sector, the enemy… continues to carry out assaults… trying in vain to dislodge Russian troops in the localities of Andriivka and Klishchiivka.”
This statement further adds to the uncertainty surrounding the situation in the village, which had only a small number of residents before Russia’s offensive.
On Thursday, Ukraine’s deputy defense minister, Ganna Malyar, retracted an earlier announcement that Kyiv had retaken Andriivka after ground troops reported ongoing fighting.
On Ukrainian television on Friday, a spokesman for a brigade involved in the conflict stated that the village had been “completely destroyed,” and that “Andriivka no longer exists.”
Bakhmut, the nearby city that was once home to approximately 70,000 people, was captured by Russian forces in May after one of the longest and bloodiest battles of Russia’s invasion.
However, Ukrainian forces swiftly launched counteroffensives along the northern and southern flanks of the city and have been making gradual progress.
