Bakhmut: Situation on flanks is tense, Russia tries to concentrate forces in city, says company commander of Svoboda battalion Oropay

He told this on Espreso TV.

"The situation is dynamic around Bakhmut, the enemy is pulling up reserves and ammunition. There is some success of our defenders on the flanks of Bakhmut. Namely, on the southern flank, where Ozaryanivka, Kurdyumivka and Klishchiyivka are located, there are very heavy battles. And to the north of Bakhmut, the enemy's artillery is constantly working, unfortunately, there is almost no calm north of the city. Russian troops are constantly using artillery, tanks, multiple rocket launchers, and they have a lot of kamikaze drones and regular Mavic drones," said the company commander of the Svoboda battalion.

Yevheniy Oropay noted that the situation remains tense, but Ukrainian soldiers are confidently standing their ground, moving and liberating Ukrainian territory.

"Russian enemy is still on the territory of Bakhmut. We are preventing the enemy from bringing in ammunition, inflicting fire from artillery and UAVs. However, the invader is amassing and concentrating its forces in the city itself. We strategically occupied the heights on the flanks, we are looking at the city's perimeter for a fairly long distance and working on the Russian soldiers. There are various enemy units operating in Bakhmut, including Storm-Z prisoners, who are not allowed to withdraw by their officers on the second line, and the invaders' morale is quite low," Oropay said.

What is known about the Ukrainian counter-offensive

On June 4, the Ukrainian Armed Forces launched a counteroffensive on the southern frontline, continuing a series of offensives near Bakhmut and in other directions.

On June 11, the Ukrainian Armed Forces announced the liberation of Blahodatne, Neskuchne, and Makarivka settlements, near the border of Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.

On June 24, the Ukrainian Defense Forces officially confirmed the liberation of the territories near Krasnohorivka in the Donetsk region, which had been under occupation since 2014.

On June 26, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar also said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had de-occupied the village of Rivnopil, Donetsk region. It is located in the Volnovakha district of the Donetsk region. The Russian army occupied the village in March 2022.

British Defence Minister Ben Wallace stated that Ukraine has already liberated more territory as part of the summer counteroffensive campaign than Russia had captured during the entire winter offensive.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday, July 23, that the Defense Forces have recaptured half of the territory that Russia has occupied since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.

On July 25, the Ukrainian Defense Forces drove the Russians out of their positions near Andriivka in the Bakhmut direction, and in the Staromayorske area, they succeeded and are consolidating their positions. The Ukrainian Armed Forces restrained the Russian offensive near Marinka and repelled enemy attacks in other areas.

On July 26, the General Staff reported that the Defense Forces continued to advance in three directions. Instead, the Russian occupiers are trying to regain the lost position near Robotyno in Zaporizhzhia region. Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Maliar said that the Defense Forces continue to successfully conduct offensive actions on the southern flank around Bakhmut. Fierce fighting continues in the area of Klishchiiivka, Kurdyumivka and Andriivka.

U.S. officials said on 26 July that Ukrainian officials told them that the army was now engaged in a major counteroffensive, moving more troops and equipment to the westernmost of the three fronts, near Zaporizhzhia. In turn, analysts from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said that our soldiers had launched a mechanised counter-offensive in Zaporizhzhia region and had probably broken through enemy defence positions near Orikhiv.

On July 27, the Ukrainian Armed Forces repelled several enemy attacks in the Kupyansk sector without losing ground, and in the Bakhmut sector our soldiers gradually moved forward. The fighting was quite fierce. The enemy was firing intensively. The General Staff reported that the Defense Forces were conducting an offensive at the Melitopol and Berdiansk directions.

On the same day, it became known that Ukrainian soldiers had liberated the village of Staromayorske in Donetsk region.

On 28 July, it was reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces were repelling numerous assaults on the Lyman and Kupyansk directions every day, and that no positions had been lost.

On 29 July, Deputy Minister of Defence Hanna Maliar reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces continued to advance on the southern flank around Bakhmut. There are some advances. The northern flank - fighting continues without changing positions. The enemy is now deploying additional forces and means to the Bakhmut direction