Ukraine claimed on Sunday that its forces had recaptured the strategically important town of Klishchievka, south of the key border town of Bakhmut. Ukraine is retaliating against Russia’s invasion. The victory on the battlefield is especially important for Ukraine as President Volodymyr Zelensky prepares for his second wartime visit to Washington next week to drum up support.
“Klishchivka has been liberated from the Russians,” Oleksandr Sirsky, commander of the Ukrainian army’s ground forces, posted on social media.
said, adding that Kiev was “preparing new defense solutions for Ukraine.”
Klishchievka was home to several hundred people before Moscow launched its offensive in
February 2022. In January, Russian troops captured the city. Ilya Yevlash, a spokesman for Ukrainian troops in the east, said control of Klashchievka could help Ukrainian forces encircle Bakhmut, which was captured by Russian forces in May after the longest and bloodiest battle in the war.
“Now we have found a platform that in the future will allow us to continue offensive actions and free our land from the occupiers,” Yevlash said in a televised statement.