Ukraine announces liberation of Klishchiivka in Donetsk Oblast

Ukrainian forces have liberated the village of Klishchiivka in Donetsk Oblast from Russian control, military units and representatives reported on the evening of Sept. 17.

The successful recapture of the village, just five kilometers south of Russian-occupied Bakhmut, was first announced on Facebook by the Liut ("Anger") Brigade, formed by the Ukrainian police and under command of the National Guard.

Soon after the video was posted, Ukrainian military spokesperson Illia Yevlash confirmed the news in a comment to Ukrainska Pravda.

“We stand strong, firm and confident, because this is our land,” said a Ukrainian soldier in the video posted by the Liut brigade. “The enemy does not stop attempts to capture it again.”

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According to Yevlash, the settlement was liberated by the 80th Air Assault Brigade, 5th Assault Brigade, as well as the Liut Brigade, whose representatives all held their units' flags in the video.

Before the liberation was publicly announced, Presidential Office head Andriy Yermak published a photo of Ukrainian soldiers in front of the town's church with the caption “Ukraine always takes back its own.”

Klishchiivka, which had a population of around 500 before the full-scale invasion, was occupied in January by Russian forces advancing along the both northern and southern flanks of Bakhmut, still held by Ukrainian forces at the time.

The liberation of the village marks a significant achievement of this axis of Ukrainian offensive operations, which began in the area back in May this year, before the more widely publicized counteroffensive on the southern front line.

On Sept. 15, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported that Ukrainian troops liberated Andriivka, another small village in Donetsk Oblast.

Andriivka is located around three kilometers south of Klishchiivka and less than 10 kilometers south of occupied Bakhmut.

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The Kyiv IndependentFrancis Farrell