INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Russia said Saturday that its forces had not been pushed out of Andriivka, a village near the key frontline town of Bakhmut, a day after
Ukraine said it had "liberated" the site and inflicted heavy losses on enemy troops.Andriivka is around 14 kilometers (nine miles) south of
Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, where Kyiv has been pushing back against Moscow's forces since June.Ukraine's General Staff said Friday
that the village was back under Ukrainian control.But in its daily bulletin, Russia's defense ministry said that "in the Donetsk sector,
continues to carry out assaults..
trying in vain to dislodge Russian troops in the localities of Andriivka and Klishchiivka."The statement adds to the confusion surrounding
the situation on the ground in the village, which had just a few dozen residents before Russia's offensive.On Thursday, Ukraine's deputy
defense minister Ganna Malyar backtracked on an announcement earlier in the day that Kyiv had retaken Andriivka after troops on the ground
said fighting was ongoing.On Ukrainian television on Friday, a spokesman for a brigade fighting in the area said the village was "completely
destroyed," adding that "Andriivka no longer exists."Bakhmut, the nearby city that was once home to around 70,000 people, was captured by
Russian forces in May following one of the longest and bloodiest battles of Russia's invasion.Ukrainian forces, however, almost
immediately began pushing back around the northern and southern flanks of the city and have been posting incremental gains.
