Ukraine said it made further gains on Friday during counter-attacks around the hotly contested eastern city of Bachmut. The Ukrainian army was also able to advance towards Bachmut on Thursday.
“The enemy continues its attacks inside the city,” Sergei Cherevati, the head of the eastern armed forces, told state television.
Ukrainian troops meanwhile put pressure on Russian soldiers outside the city and continue to advance there. “The situation in Bachmoet is difficult but under control,” Cherevaty said. “We can see the enemy’s intentions, and anticipate them, prepare for them.”
The Russian troops have been trying to take the strategic city of Bachmut for months, but seem to be losing momentum. They control large parts of the almost completely destroyed city, but Ukrainian troops have been advancing from the north and east in recent days to encircle the Russians.
Moscow moved thousands of troops to Bachmut for reinforcement, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said. “The enemy can’t win with quality, so he tries with quantity,” she wrote in a Facebook post. “Russian forces continue to attack with losses far greater than our losses.”
More south, in the port city of Mariupol, which has been controlled by the Russians since spring, explosions were heard at the airport on Friday evening, the Russian state news agency ‘Tass’ reported.
