Ukraine claims to have broken Russian defence line near Bakhmut

Ukraineon Monday (September 18) claimed its forces had broken through a Russian line of defence near the eastern frontline city of Bakhmut amid fierce fighting, reported news agency AFP. This comes after Kyiv had reported recapture of small clutches of land from Russian forces along the southern front and Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk region.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian governmentannounced the dismissal of six deputy defence ministers after Kyiv appointed a new defence minister earlier this month.

Ukraine recaptures parts of land near Bakhmut

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In a statement, Ukraine’s ground forces commander Oleksandr Syrskyi, said, “Fierce fighting continues in the area of Bakhmut...As a result of the successful actions of our troops, the enemy’s defence line was broken.”

This comes as Ukrainian troops have reportedly focused their slow-moving counter-offensive which they launched earlier this year to recapture its territory controlled by Moscow.

The efforts have focused in and around the town of Bakhmut, which has seen some of the bloodiest and longest battles of the war.

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“Two square kilometres (0.77 square miles) were liberated in the Bakhmut sector,” outgoing Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar told the Ukrainian media, earlier on Monday.

The announcement also came a day Kyiv said its forces had retaken Klishchiivka, a village south of Bakhmut. Ukrainian forces had clawed back 5.2 square kilometres in the south, said Maliar.

She also said that Kyiv’s troops have liberated 51 square kilometres near Bakhmut since the start of the counteroffensive back in June and overall regained more than 260 square km in the south during the counteroffensive.

Kyiv dismisses six defence ministers

The Ukrainian government on Monday (Sep 18) dismissed six deputy defence ministers without giving any reason for the decision. Among those dismissed was Maliar, who issued frequent updates on Russia’s war on Ukraine.

She recently came under fire for initially reporting that Ukrainian forces had recaptured Andriivka village near Bakhmut from Russian forces and later admitted that report was inaccurate and that fighting was still raging around the village.

While Andriivka’s capture was announced the next day by Kyiv, Moscow continued to deny losing control of the village.

ALSO READ |Ukraine claims to have ‘liberated’ Andriivka village near Bakhmut; evacuations ordered in Kherson

Rustem Umerov who became Ukraine’s defence minister less than two weeks ago after the dismissal of Oleksii Reznikov, in a Facebook post said, “Rebooting. We (have) started. We continue. (The) Ministry continues to work as usual.”

This comes as the Ukrainian defence ministry had been dodging media allegations of corruption when Reznikov was in charge. A report by the Ukrainska Pravda news site citing unnamed government sources said that all deputy ministers had resigned voluntarily following a request by Umerov and would not be returning to their posts.

The Ukrainian media report also said that the government is in the midst of looking for candidates to replace those dismissed, adding that “a complete overhaul is underway” at the ministry.

(With inputs from agencies)

Disclaimer: A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on Ukraine-Russia war on the ground and online. While WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

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