Bakhmut-Horlivka road is under Ukrainian army's fire control

Ilia Yevlash, a spokesman for the Eastern Military Group, said this during the telethon.

He noted that the occupying Russian troops have not abandoned their plans to completely seize the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, so they are now actively trying to regain positions in the liberated Andriivka and Klishchiivka, which are important for the defense of Bakhmut.

"The withdrawal near Klishchiivka and Andriivka allows us to get even closer to one of the logistics arteries supplying the enemy's groups in this area - the Bakhmut-Horlivka road, which is already under our fire control. Mortars and anti-tank units are already being sent there. Therefore, the enemy's supply in this area has already become significantly more complicated and will become more complicated in the future," emphasized Yevlash.

According to him, the exposure of this flank allows the Ukrainian military to strike more enemy personnel and equipment.

The spokesperson emphasized that Ukrainian defenders are trying to strike where the Russian enemy least expects it. As a result, despite their dominance in the air, the Russian troops suffer 7-8 times more losses on the defensive than the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the offensive.

Yevlash also said that intense fighting continues in the eastern grouping of troops, Ukrainian defenders continue to launch an offensive operation on the southern flank of Bakhmut and have made progress near Andriivka, Odradivka, Kurdyumivka.

"The largest concentration of enemy forces is currently observed in the Lyman-Kupyansk sector: Russia keeps more than 110,000 personnel, a large number of armored vehicles, artillery systems and multiple rocket launchers there. However, it is worth noting that we have not recorded any combat engagements in this area for about a week now. However, this does not mean that hostilities have completely disappeared: the enemy continues to shell Ukrainian positions. Thus, over the past day, it launched 552 artillery strikes and used aviation 17 times in the Lyman-Kupyansk sector. Intense heavy fighting is taking place there, our defenders are holding the front," he added. 

Yevlash emphasized that the Ukrainian military is conducting different types of operations on two fronts.

"While in the Kupyansk-Lyman sector we are defending ourselves, trying to effectively restrain the enemy's advance, in the Bakhmut sector we are making progress and continue to push them out of their positions," explained the spokesman.

• On September 15, Ukrainian troops took control of the villages of Klishchiivka and Andriivka, located about 8 km south of the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region. British intelligence assessed the situation at the front after the Ukrainian army's successes near Bakhmut.