Russian proxy forces claim capture of Klishchiivka, south of Ukraine’s Bakhmut

Russia’s defense ministry said on Friday that its forces had taken control of Klishchiivka, a settlement south of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region.

Last week, Russian forces captured Soledar to the northeast of Bakhmut - an advance that defense analysts said could help them put pressure on the larger town.

Klishchiivka, which had a pre-war population of around 400 people, was captured with the help of aerial support, the ministry said.

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The village is around six miles (nine kilometers) south of Bakhmut, where units of Russia’s Wagner private militia have been locked for months in a battle of attrition with Ukrainian forces.

Both Wagner and a Russian proxy militia based in Ukraine’s Donetsk province had already claimed to have taken Klishchiivka. Reuters could not independently confirm battlefield events.

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