Ukrainian troops have liberated part of Opytne near occupied Donetsk City, made gains south of Bakhmut, and liberated 1.5 square kilometers on the southern front over the past week. This was reported by Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar during a live broadcast from the Military Media Center on 11 September 2023.
Eastern front
According to Maliar, Russian forces are trying to assault along four axes on the eastern front – Kupiansk, Lyman, Avdiivka, and Mariinka.
“There was movement [of the Ukrainian troops] in the vicinity of Opytne, the Defence Forces retook a part of this settlement,” Maliar said.
She added that over the past week, Ukrainian troops made gains near Klishchiivka and Andriivka in the Bakhmut sector, pushing Russians out of their positions.
“Over the past week, the area liberated there [in the Bakhmut sector] amounted to about 2 square kilometers,” Hanna Maliar said.
According to the Deputy Minister, 49 square kilometers have been liberated during the ongoing counteroffensive near Bakhmut City so far.
Southern front
Maliar says Ukrainian troops face serious obstacles from the enemy on the southern front, in southern Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk oblasts. Still, Russia’s “first line of defense” has already been broken in some places, and “our troops are moving on.”
“There are advances, certain successes. Over the past week, we have liberated 1.5 square kilometers there [in the south],” the deputy minister said.
According to Maliar, Ukrainian troops successfully advanced in the area of Robotyne and Verbove last week:
“In the course of last week’s offensive, we had successes south of Robotyne and west of Verbove,” said Hanna Maliar, adding that Ukrainians are consolidating their positions in these areas.
Maliar also mentioned that the Ukrainian troops had partial success in the area of Novomaiorske in Donetsk Oblast over the past week.
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