Ukraine’s military says it has retaken the eastern village of Andriivka.
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Ukraine’s military said Friday that it had now retaken Andriivka, a small eastern farming hamlet that has been repeatedly attacked in recent months, a confirmation that came after contradictions within the ranks over whether Russian forces had in fact been driven from the village.
Andriivka is a small farming hamlet about seven miles south of Bakhmut. Russia captured Bakhmut in May after a nearly yearlong campaign that featured some of the bloodiest fighting of the war, but Ukrainian forces almost immediately began a campaign to drive Moscow’s troops from areas to the north and south of the city. In brutal fighting, Ukraine has gradually progressed in and around the Russian-occupied village of Klishchiivka — control of which could threaten Moscow’s forces in Bakhmut itself.
On Thursday afternoon, Hanna Malyar, a Ukrainian deputy defense minister, said on the Telegram messaging app that,“we have good news,” implying through emojis that Andriivka had been retaken. Less than an hour later, the 3rd Assault Brigade, one of Ukraine’s most battle seasoned units, disputed that — a rare instance of Ukrainian soldiers publicly contradicting their senior officials.
“The statement about the capture is false,” the 3rd Assault Brigade wrote on Telegram. Heavy fighting was continuing in the area, the soldiers said, adding that “such statements are harmful” and “pose a threat to the lives of personnel.”
Ms. Malyar soon clarified that there had been a “miscommunication” and that heavy fighting still raged in Andriivka.
But on Friday morning, the Ukrainian military’s General Staff said that troops conducting offensive operations near Klishchiivka had in fact successfully retaken Andriivka.
Ms. Malyar acknowledged that confirmation in her own post and nodded to the conflicting reports the previous day by saying that “yesterday’s situation changed very dynamically several times.”
An hour later, the 3rd Assault Brigade issued a statement of their own in agreement.
“Capturing and holding Andriivka is our way to a breakthrough on the right flank of Bakhmut and the key to the success of the entire offensive,” it wrote on Telegram, adding: “We pay a high price for the results of these battles.
Underscoring the sentiment, Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense posted photos on social media that showed the village was all but destroyed.
There was no immediate comment from Russia’s Defense Ministry, and the claims that Ukraine had retaken the village could not immediately be independently confirmed.
— Jeffrey Gettleman and Oleksandra Mykolyshyn reporting from Uman, Ukraine
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