Heavy Fighting Reported Around Key Eastern Village That Ukraine Says It Has Liberated
This photograph released by Ukrainian presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak shows Ukrainian soldiers posing in front of a destroyed building in the village of Klishchiyivka on September 17.
Heavy fighting between Ukrainian soldiers and invading Russian forces was reported early on September 18 in and around Klishchiyivka, a key village in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, the Ukrainian military said.
The fighting comes a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced that Ukrainian forces had liberated Klishchiyivka, a village on the southern flank of Bakhmut.
The area southwest of Bakhmut has been a focus of Ukraine’s counteroffensive in the east throughout the summer. Zelenskiy’s announcement came two days after Ukraine’s military said it had gained control of a small nearby village, Andriyivka, about 10 kilometers southwest of Bakhmut.
If both villages are retaken, it could allow Ukraine’s troops to attack Bakhmut from the north and south, allowing them to liberate the ruined town that was captured by Russia after months of bloody fighting and hailed by the Kremlin as a major victory at the time.
Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar on September 18 repeated that Ukrainian troops had liberated both Klishchiyivka and Andriyivka.
Kyiv's troops have liberated 51 square kilometers near Bakhmut since the start of the counteroffensive, Malyar said in a post on Telegram.
Further south in the Donetsk region, Ukrainian troops continued to hold back a Russian offensive toward the towns of Avdiyivka and Maryinka, Malyar said.
Ukrainian forces, who are trying to advance toward the Sea of Azov in a southern drive intended to split Russian forces, retook 5.2 square kilometers in the past week, Malyar said.
Battles Rage Around A Key Eastern Ukrainian Village Kyiv Says It Liberated
1/9A handout photograph released by Kyiv shows Ukrainian soldiers posing with Ukrainian national flags in front of a destroyed building in the village of Klishchiyivka on September 17.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced that Ukrainian forces had liberated Klishchiyivka, a village on the southern flank of Bakhmut. The announcement came two days after Ukraine's military said it had gained control of a small nearby village, Andriyivka, about 10 kilometers southwest of Bakhmut.
The Ukrainian Army said on September 18 it was continuing its counteroffensive around Klishchiyivka after announcing it had liberated the key eastern Ukrainian village the day before.
2/9A Ukrainian soldier places the national flag atop a destroyed home in the recaptured village of Andriyivka in the Donetsk region on September 16.
The capture of both Andriyivka and Klishchiyivka -- which are situated on higher ground -- would allow Ukraine’s troops to attack entrenched Russian forces in Bakhmut from the north and south.
The Ukrainian Army said on September 18 it was continuing its counteroffensive around Klishchiyivka after announcing it had liberated the key eastern Ukrainian village the day before.
3/9Ukrainian soldiers relax during a lull in fighting. However heavy fighting was reported early on September 18 around Klishchiyivka, which was long held by Russian forces.
The Ukrainian Army said on September 18 it was continuing its counteroffensive around Klishchiyivka after announcing it had liberated the key eastern Ukrainian village the day before.
4/9As shelling continues above, a Ukrainian soldier shelters in a bunker near Andriyivka.
"Defense forces continue assault operations in the vicinity of Klishchiyivka, inflicting significant losses in manpower and equipment on the enemy, and consolidated their new positions," the Ukrainian General Staff wrote on Facebook on September 18.
The Ukrainian Army said on September 18 it was continuing its counteroffensive around Klishchiyivka after announcing it had liberated the key eastern Ukrainian village the day before.
5/9A Ukrainian soldier passes by the body of a dead Russian soldier on September 16 near Andriyivka.
The capture of the ruined city of Bakhmut by Russia after months of bloody fighting was hailed by the Kremlin as a major victory at the time.
The Ukrainian Army said on September 18 it was continuing its counteroffensive around Klishchiyivka after announcing it had liberated the key eastern Ukrainian village the day before.
6/9A Ukrainian soldier passes by the body of a dead Russian soldier.
Kyiv's troops have liberated 51 square kilometers near Bakhmut since the start of the counteroffensive, according to a Defense Ministry post on Telegram. The capture of both settlements within three days is seen as one of the most significant advances in Ukraine's hard-fought counteroffensive to drive Moscow's forces from the country's east.
The Ukrainian Army said on September 18 it was continuing its counteroffensive around Klishchiyivka after announcing it had liberated the key eastern Ukrainian village the day before.
7/9A Ukrainian soldier smokes a cigarette while standing on top of an APC close to the front line near Bakhmut.
The Ukrainian Army said on September 18 it was continuing its counteroffensive around Klishchiyivka after announcing it had liberated the key eastern Ukrainian village the day before.
8/9During its three-month-old counteroffensive, Kyiv has reported slow but steady progress against Moscow's entrenched positions while taking heavy casualties.
The Ukrainian Army said on September 18 it was continuing its counteroffensive around Klishchiyivka after announcing it had liberated the key eastern Ukrainian village the day before.
9/9A Ukrainian soldier smokes a cigarette while taking cover from shelling.
With President Zelenskiy preparing to visit Washington this week in a bid to rally more international support, battlefield victories are especially important as critics of Kyiv's counteroffensive say its progress is too slow.
RFE/RL is not able to verify battlefield reports and Russia has not confirmed the Ukrainian advances.
The Ukrainian Army said on September 18 it was continuing its counteroffensive around Klishchiyivka after announcing it had liberated the key eastern Ukrainian village the day before.
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Overall, Ukraine regained more than 260 square kilometers in the south during the counteroffensive, she said.
In its daily update on September 18, the Ukrainian military said it forces were continuing “assault operations” in the Klishchiyivka region, “inflicting significant losses on the enemy.”
A day earlier on September 17, the Russian Defense Ministry said in its daily briefing that its forces kept up their attacks near Klishchiyivka, which had a prewar population of around 400.
Elsewhere, a 72-year-old man and an elderly woman were killed as a result of Russian attacks on Ukraine's southern Kherson region overnight, according to a local official.
Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson region military administration, said three others were injured, including a 60-year-old man and a 63-year-old woman.
Ukraine's military also said it had destroyed all 17 cruise missiles launched from Russia's southwest Volgograd region. The missiles were destroyed in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava, and Khmelnytskiy regions, the Ukrainian military said.
The Ukrainian Air Force said air defenses had destroyed 18 out of 24 Russian military drones that were reportedly heading in the direction of the Mykolayiv and Odesa regions.
Ukraine's Native-Made 'Bohdana' Howitzer In Battle
1/11A 2s22 Bohdana firing a shell toward Russian positions on September 13.
This self-propelled howitzer was developed in Ukraine and has only rarely been photographed in action.
RFE/RL was granted access to a self-propelled howitzer designed in Ukraine as it fired toward Russian forces.
2/11A 2018 file photo of a prototype of the Bohdana
The Ukrainian weapon has been in development since 2016. When Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, a prototype of the Bohdana was reportedly ordered to be destroyed to stop it falling into Russian hands, but the weapon was successfully evacuated.
RFE/RL was granted access to a self-propelled howitzer designed in Ukraine as it fired toward Russian forces.
3/11An early version of the Bohdana fires at Russian-occupied Snake Island from the Ukrainian mainland in June 2022
In the spring of 2022, the gun's first combat mission was to strike at Russian positions on Snake Island, a target nearly at the limit of the weapon’s 40-kilometer range with standard ammunition. Rocket-assisted shells can be fired some 50 kilometers by the Bohdana.
RFE/RL was granted access to a self-propelled howitzer designed in Ukraine as it fired toward Russian forces.
5/11The Bohdana moves toward a firing position.
At least two variants of the weapon are made by Ukraine. One, pictured here, is based on the Belarusian MAZ truck chassis, while a second is built atop a Czech-made Tatra truck.
RFE/RL was granted access to a self-propelled howitzer designed in Ukraine as it fired toward Russian forces.
6/11The gun’s crew loads the weapon.
A key specification of the Bohdana is its use of 155 mm shells. The NATO-standard caliber is relatively easily available for Ukraine from Western allies, unlike 152 mm munitions used in Soviet-designed weapons.
RFE/RL was granted access to a self-propelled howitzer designed in Ukraine as it fired toward Russian forces.
9/11The crew works to reload the Bohdana.
Each 155-mm NATO-standard shell used by the howitzer weighs around 40 kilograms -- generally seen as the upper limit for rounds that can be managed by human hands.
RFE/RL was granted access to a self-propelled howitzer designed in Ukraine as it fired toward Russian forces.
11/11The Bohdana leaves its firing position to return to cover.
The ability to rapidly "shoot and scoot" is seen as increasingly important for modern weapons systems due to radar systems that are able to spot incoming projectiles and determine where they were fired from.
RFE/RL was granted access to a self-propelled howitzer designed in Ukraine as it fired toward Russian forces.
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Meanwhile, Colonel Andrei Kondrashkin, the commander of Russia's 31st Paratroopers Brigade, has been killed in ongoing clashes with Ukrainian armed forces, a commander of the Russian-backed separatists' troops in Ukraine's eastern region of Donbas said on September 18.
Aleksandr Khodakovsky did not provide any details. Russa's Defense Ministry has yet to confirm the statement.
Ukrainian media reports say Kondrashkin’s military unit is currently near the city of Bakhmut that has been the epicenter of intensive clashes between occupying Russian troops and Ukrainian military for months.
RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service has seen its audience grow significantly since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022 and is among the most cited media outlets in the country. Its bold, in-depth reporting from the front lines has won many accolades and awards. Its comprehensive coverage also includes award-winning reporting by the Donbas.Realities and Crimea.Realities projects and the Schemes investigative unit.
