Ukraine recaptures village near Bakhmut, as its forces continue to advance

Ukraine's armed forces said Friday a frontline village near Bakhmut was “liberated,” a day after prematurely claiming it retaken.

"In the direction of Bakhmut, the enemy does not stop trying to break through the defence of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the area of Bogdanivka," the Ukrainian General Staff stated on Facebook.

"In turn, the defence forces had partial success in the Klishchiivka area during offensive operations. In the course of the assault, they liberated Andriivka in Donetsk region, inflicted significant losses on the enemy in terms of manpower and equipment, and entrenched at the occupied frontiers," it added.

A day earlier, on Thursday, Ukraine’s deputy Defense Minister Ganna Malyar backtracked on an announcement that Kyiv liberated the eastern village from Russian forces, after Ukrainian troops said fighting was still ongoing.

Malyar had announced that the village of Andriivka was "ours", saying Kyiv's forces were now "moving forward in the Bakhmut sector." 

"The statement about the capture of Andriivka is premature," the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, fighting in the Donetsk region, had responded on social media.

"There are serious and important battles in the areas of Klishchivka and Andriivka," it added, calling the statement "unfair."

Malyar then released an updated post, in which she was "clarifying" the situation, and blamed the early announcement on a "communication breakdown."

Finally, on Friday, Malyar said on Telegram that the General Staff had now "officially confirmed that our troops captured Andriivka yesterday as a result of fighting.”

"It was difficult and the situation changed very dynamically several times yesterday," the deputy defense minister added.

Andriivka is a small village, 9 miles south of Bakhmut, with an estimated pre-war population of fewer than 100 people.