Ukrainian Armed Forces liberate Klishchiyivka from occupants and advance east of Krasnohorivka: ISW analysis of combat actions

On September 17, the Ukrainian Defense Forces liberated the village of Klishchiyivka south of Bakhmut and continued successful offensives in other areas of the Bakhmut sector. They also conducted limited ground attacks on the Avdiivka-Donetsk line and advanced further east of Krasnohorivka.

The occupiers, having lost control of their positions, tried to counterattack but did not achieve any confirmed success. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) analyzed the course of the battle.

The battle for Klishchivka

The village of Klishchiyivka is located 7 km southwest of Bakhmut. The day before, the spokesman for the Eastern Group of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Captain Ilya Yevlash, said that Ukrainian forces had liberated the village. Throughout the day, the military itself published several videos confirming the statement.

According to analysts, Ukraine's official statements about the liberation indicate that the Defense Forces are operating freely in the village. Currently, Russian pro-war bloggers deny that Ukrainian forces have liberated Klishchiyivka and claim that the Ukrainian Armed Forces "control only the southern and central parts" of the village. At the same time, one propagandist noted that Russian troops "have entrenched themselves near the railroad to the east and northeast" of the village, but do not hold positions in the village itself.

Footage published on September 17 shows Ukrainian troops shelling the occupiers on the outskirts of Klishchiyivka and forcing them to retreat.

Additional geolocation footage posted the day before shows that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have also advanced east of Orikhovo-Vasylivka (11 km northwest of Bakhmut). Bloggers from the Russian Federation claimed that their troops "repelled several Ukrainian attacks" on the northern flank of Bakhmut and that fighting continued near Andriivka, a Ukrainian-liberated village 10 km southwest of the fortress city, which they said was a disputed "gray zone."

The ISW emphasized that on September 17, Russian troops counterattacked in the area of Bakhmut, but did not achieve any confirmed success. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces repelled five attacks by the occupiers near Klishchiyivka and Bila Hora (14 km southwest of Bakhmut), and also repelled counterattacks by Russian troops near Andriivka and Kurdyumivka (13 km southwest).

Russian bloggers only claim that the Russian Armed Forces are counterattacking near Klishchiyivka and are unsuccessfully trying to force Ukrainian forces out of their positions near Bohdanivka (7 km northwest). Captain Ilya Yevlash of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said that 52,000 troops of the Russian aggressor country's army have been deployed to the Bakhmut direction.

Ukrainian Armed Forces advance towards Krasnohorivka

It is noted that on September 17, Ukrainian troops conducted limited ground attacks on the Avdiivka-Donetsk front line and advanced. Geolocated footage published on September 16 shows that the Ukrainian Armed Forces moved further east of Krasnohorivka (22 km southwest of Avdiivka).

At the same time, the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that units of the Russian Southern Military Group "repelled an attack by the Ukrainian army" in the area of Maryinka (27 km southwest of Avdiivka).

As reported by OBOZREVATEL, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Army General Mark Milley said that the Ukrainian counteroffensive is "slower than expected, but consistent." According to him, the Ukrainian army will need a lot of time to achieve its goal.

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