Kiev 5 August : Russian forces have launched an offensive of major proportions in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine in eastern Ukraine, the General Staff in Kiev said in an announcement on Friday. “The enemy has launched an offensive in the direction of Bakhmut and Avdiivka in the Donetsk region,” dpa news agency said in the statement.
The move was aimed at preparing Russian forces to launch an attack against Soledar and Bakhmut and expanding Russian control to the west of the city of Donetsk the report added.
Soledar and Bakhmut are the eastern part of the defense line that runs towards the east of the urban centers of the two major cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk which housed nearly half a million inhabitants prior to the conflict.
The region is one of the few remaining under the control of Ukrainian authorities in the larger eastern Donbas region.It is heavily secured by the Ukrainian side.
The General Staff’s report also stated that the Russian attack near Bakhmut was unsuccessful as fighting continued on the outskirts of Avdiivka just in the northern part of Donetsk city.
It was not independently verified, but was in the same vein with previous reports of an increase in combat in the region after the brief interruption.
Russian Defence Ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov has stated earlier that due to the heavy losses, a number of Ukrainian brigades have been forced to withdraw from their positions close to Soledar, Avdiivka and Bakhmut.
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