He said this on Espreso TV.
"Bakhmut is the main direction of the enemy's attack. The Russian forces have been hitting the city itself for several months with all types of rocket, barrel artillery, and aviation. They conduct assault operations there. Since that day, the invading Russian forces have been around Bakhmut. The "hot spot" is Ivanhorod now (a settlement south of Bakhmut - Ed.), where they are trying to storm. They even boast that they have already occupied it, but this is not true," the spokesman for the Eastern Group of Forces said.
Serhii Cherevaty added that the Ukrainian troops are conducting a fierce defense and are repelling Russian attacks.