‘We destroyed Russian 72nd Brigade, we’ll wipe out rest’: Ukrainian soldier on prospects in Bakhmut

He said this on the Espreso TV channel.

"The Ukrainian Armed Forces are advancing in the Bakhmut sector and will continue to do so. We did not stop with the liberation of Andriivka. Andriivka was a key point for controlling the southern flank of Bakhmut. Thus, we are not just controlling the railway, we can already use artillery to reach the Berkhivka-Bakhmut road," explained Kukharchuk.

According to the 3rd Brigade commander, Andriivka opens up operational space for further advance of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

"We have already destroyed the 72nd Brigade of the Russian Federation, it is gone. Other brigades are coming here. The 83rd and 57th brigades of the Russian Federation are still standing, but they won't be standing for long. We will also grind them into dust," Kukharchuk stressed.

• The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) writes that Ukrainian defenders continue their offensive and have advanced in the area of Bakhmut in Donetsk region and Novoprokopivka in Zaporizhzhia region.

• Over the past day, Ukrainian defenders repelled Russian attacks at the Lyman, Shakhtarsk and Kupyansk directions. Russia has already lost 280,000 troops since starting the full-scale invasion