Ukraine’s defense ministry reports capture of Andriivka near Bakhmut, 3rd Brigade refutes statement

Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar announced the capture of Andriivka at 3:53 p.m.

"We are moving forward in the Bakhmut sector. On the northern flank, Russia is trying to recapture the lost positions. On the southern flank, we are successfully advancing. The main fighting continues in the areas of Andriivka, Kurdyumivka and Klishchiyivka," said Maliar.

She also reported that there is good news in this sector:

"Andriivka is ours! We are consolidating our positions."

At 4:34 p.m., the 3rd Detached Assault Brigade denied this statement, calling it harmful, false and premature:

"The statement about the recapture of Andriivka is false and premature. Fierce and heavy fighting is currently taking place in the areas of Klishchiyivka and Andriivka. Such statements are harmful, endanger the lives of personnel and impede the fulfillment of combat missions."

After the military's harsh statement, Hanna Maliar added to her post:

"The situation is very complicated and volatile. We are keeping our fingers crossed for our servicemen."

In a comment to Hromadske, the head of the press service of the Eastern Military Grouping, Captain Ilya Yevlash, also denied the information about the liberation of Andriivka.

"We do not confirm the liberation of Andriivka. There are still active fierce hostilities in the area. As soon as we know about the final liberation of this settlement from Russian soldiers, we will definitely inform the public," he said.

Later, Maliar made a separate clarification regarding the information about the liberation of Andriivka:

"I do not release such information without coordination and agreement with the military. Currently, there is a communication glitch between several sources of information reporting directly from the scene. There have been some gains in Andriivka and heavy fighting is still going on."

• According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Defense Forces in the Avdiivka, Maryinka and Shakhtarsk sectors continue to hold the initiative. In return, Russia lost 620 soldiers, a ship and a submarine.