Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has thanked the units involved for recapturing the village of Klishchiivka in the east of the country. "Today I would especially like to mention the soldiers who are gradually taking back Ukraine's property, especially in the Bakhmut area," Zelenskyy said in his daily video message on Sunday evening. "Klishchiivka. Gorgeous guys," he said.
The Ukrainian military had previously reported the recapture of the village in the south of Bakhmut. "I can confirm that this has been achieved thanks to the efforts of the 80th Airborne Assault Brigade, the 5th Assault Brigade and the combined brigade of the National Police "Lyut" ("Fury"), the newspaper "Ukrayinska Pravda" quoted the spokesman for Army Group East, Ilya Yevlasch, as saying on Sunday. Several hours earlier, the head of the president's office in Kiev, Andriy Yermak, had already published a photo on Telegram showing Ukrainian soldiers in the town in the Donetsk region. "Ukraine always takes back theirs," Yermak wrote.
The brigade "Lyut" published a video in which it also announced the capture of the village immediately south of the city of Bakhmut. "But the enemy is still trying to reoccupy them," said one of the soldiers, holding the Ukrainian flag and the flags of the army units involved in the camera. In the background, persistent battle noise can be heard. So far, there has been no comment from the Russian side. Initially, it is often not possible to independently verify the reports of the warring parties.
With the capture of Klishchiivka by Ukraine, the tactical situation of the Russian occupiers in Bakhmut deteriorates significantly. They are now in danger of being pinched from the south and from the north. Russians and Ukrainians had been fighting for Bakhmut in the Donetsk region for a good six months. On the side of the Russian armed forces, the mercenaries of the Wagner private army were mainly used here. At the end of May, Russia declared the city captured.
Explosions in Sevastopol, Crimea
In the port city of Sevastopol on the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, there were several explosions, according to media reports. The Russian Ministry of Defense, on the other hand, only announced on Sunday: "Over the southwestern part of the Crimean peninsula, two Ukrainian drones were destroyed by anti-aircraft defenses." Several Telegram channels published photos showing a glow of fire over the city. Local residents reported a strong smell of burning. Russia annexed the Ukrainian peninsula in 2014 in violation of international law.
According to the Moscow-installed governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, no infrastructure objects were hit. The port city is also the base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Razvozhayev explained the smell of burning with a smoke screen, which the Navy had used to protect against the drones.