General Staff: Ukrainian forces make further gains in Urozhaine, Donetsk Oblast

Counteroffensive operations continue in the directions of Bakhmut, Melitopol, and Berdiansk, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on Aug. 15.

Ukrainian forces made further gains in the area of Donetsk Oblast’s Urozhaine, entrenching the regained positions, the General Staff wrote.

This report follows an Aug. 10 statement of Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar that Ukrainian troops had achieved partial success in the Urozhaine direction, east of the recently liberated village of Staromaiorske.

Urozhaine lies in the southwestern part of Donetsk Oblast, some 150 kilometers from Bakhmut, where Ukrainian troops are reportedly on the offensive south of the city.

According to the General Staff, Russia attempted unsuccessful attacks near Marinka and Krasnohorivka in Ukraine's east.

“The enemy is putting up strong resistance, moving units and troops, and applying reserves.”

Ukraine’s military added that it kept holding back Russian offensive operations in the Lyman, Bakhmut, and Kupiansk directions.

On Aug. 10, local authorities began a mandatory evacuation of civilians from the Kupiansk district, Kharkiv Oblast, where Moscow is reportedly trying to recapture the territories lost during the Ukrainian surprise counteroffensive last autumn.

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The Kyiv IndependentFrancis Farrell