Fighting is continuing in Bakhmut, Ukraine’s armed forces have said in their morning update after Russia claimed to have completed the “liberation” of the eastern city over the weekend. Confusion has reigned as Ukrainian officials rejected the claims.
“[In Bakhmut] the enemy continues to lead offensive actions. Fighting for the city of Bakhmut continues,” the armed forces said, adding that over the past day Russian forces had “unsuccessfully tried to recover lost positions south of the [nearby] settlement of Ivanivske”. Russia had also carried out air strikes on Bakhmut.
It has been impossible to verify the conflicting statements over the devastated city, which has assumed symbolic importance as a measure of which side has the resilience to prevail in the war overall.
At least eight people were wounded and scores of buildings were damaged in a Russian air attack overnight on the Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine said on Monday, adding that air defence systems destroyed 20 drones and four cruise missiles.
With a Ukrainian counteroffensive looming, Russia has intensified its missile and drone strikes this month after a lull of nearly two months. Waves of attacks now come several times a week, the heaviest of the war.
“The Russian invaders attacked military and infrastructure facilities of the eastern outpost of Ukraine – the city of Dnipro,” Ukraine’s air force said on the Telegram messaging service.
“The attack was carried out by 16 different types of missiles and 20 Shahed-136/131 strike drones,” the air force said, adding that air defences brought down 20 Russian drones and four cruise missiles.
At least one man was wounded in the attack on Dnipro city and seven people were injured on an attack on Synelnykivskyi district of the Dnipropetrovsk region, the governor, Serhiy Lysak, said on Telegram.
Scores of buildings, including private homes, apartment blocks and administrative infrastructure were damaged or destroyed, he said.
Photo: Ukraine servicemen of the 24th Mechanized Brigade ‘Daniel of Galicia’ rest in their position in an undisclosed location, in Donetsk region, Ukraine. EPA-EFE/OLEG PETRASYUK
