The US think tank made the assessment in its latest report on the war in Ukraine, published on Friday night.
Ukrainian forces on Thursday liberated the village of Andriivka, south of Bakhmut, and on Friday achieved partial successes near Klishchiivka (7km southwest of Bakhmut), according to the General Staff in Kyiv.
Ukraine’s 3rd Separate Assault Brigade said its soldiers recaptured Andriivka and “completely destroyed” the Russian 72nd Separate Motorised Rifle Brigade (3rd Army Corps) after enveloping the village, the ISW reported.
Andriivka lies 10 km southwest of Bakhmut, a city in the Donetsk province captured by Russia in May, following a bloody months-long battle, according to news outlets.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian troops on Friday also continued counteroffensive operations in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, the General Staff said.
Ukrainian troops were inflicting significant losses on Russian manpower and equipment near the village of Verbove (18km southeast of Orikhiv), in the western part of Zaporizhzhia, the ISW reported.
In addition, in the southern Kherson province, Ukrainian forces have been conducting counter-battery fire, destroying Russian supply depots and inflicting successful blows on the enemy’s rear, according to Ukraine’s official war.ukraine.ua website.
Ukraine is seeking to encircle and recapture Bakhmut in the east, while its push through Zaporizhzhia in the southeast is intended to reach the port of Melitopol on the Sea of Azov, splitting Russian forces, according to news outlets.
On Thursday, Britain’s military chief, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, said that Ukraine “continues to hold the initiative” and is “pushing Russia back” in its counteroffensive, which began in early June.
Saturday is day 570 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
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Source: PAP, ISW, war.ukraine.ua