Espreso Global Russia-Ukraine war Ukrainian Armed Forces advance near Bakhmut, Russian troops fall into traps – Syrskyi

Ukrainian Armed Forces advance near Bakhmut, Russian troops fall into traps – Syrskyi

9 July, 2023 Sunday

11:32

Ukrainian defenders continue to advance in the Bakhmut direction, while Russian forces are finding themselves trapped

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The commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi, stated this on Telegram.

“Regarding the Bakhmut direction, we are achieving success as the Defense Forces make continuous advancements, and the enemy finds themselves trapped in certain areas,” as emphasized by the commander.

Furthermore, Syrskyi shared a video showcasing the remarkable performance of the "Ghost" group from the Separate Presidential Brigade named after Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytskyi. In the footage, a sniper with the call sign "Alpha" demonstrated excellent skills by eliminating an enemy target with a single shot from a distance of 1,200 meters.

During the sniper's operation, the group was pursued by an enemy UAV, which was successfully shot down, as highlighted by the commander.

Ukraine’s counteroffensive

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 the morning of June 12, Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said that the Ukrainian state flag was raised again over Storozhove, Donetsk region.
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, Hanna Maliar reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have advanced 1 to 2 kilometers on the eastern frontline in the past week. During the offensive in the southern direction, the Ukrainian Armed Forces liberated 130 square kilometers.On June 26, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar also said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had de-occupied the village of Rivnopil, Donetsk region.
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.
But Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov stated that the already liberated settlements were not the "main event" but rather the prelude to a major counteroffensive.
Specialists of the Institute for the Study of War believe that the Russian military is likely to bring additional forces to Bakhmut from other directions in response to Ukrainian offensive operations in the area.
On the morning of July 3, Hanna Maliar reported that the Defense Forces advanced in the southern and eastern directions. Over the past week, the Ukrainian military liberated about 38 square kilometers.
On July 4, it was reported that Ukrainian military forces were advancing on the southern flank around Bakhmut in Donetsk region and in the south.
On the morning of July 5, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that the Ukrainian Defence Forces were continuing their offensive in the Melitopol and Berdiansk directions, consolidating their positions, inflicting artillery fire on the identified enemy targets, and carrying out counter-battery operations.
On July 7, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar reported that the Defense Forces were advancing on the flanks of Bakhmut and grinding the enemy to a halt in the south, with the ratio of Russian army losses being more than five times higher.
Also on Saturday, July 8, it was reported that the Ukrainian military had achieved tactically significant gains in the area of Bakhmut. At the same time, Ukrainian forces continued their counteroffensive in at least three other areas of the front.