Ukraine Army Successfully Forces Russian Soldiers To Withdraw In Slovyansk

The Armed Forces of Ukraine (UAF) on Sunday announced they have successfully forced Russian soldiers to withdraw in the city of Slovyansk, thwarting the Russians’ latest attempts at capturing the province of Donetsk.

The Ukrainian military recently launched a counteroffensive against Russian soldiers advancing in the city of Slovyansk, causing them to retreat after suffering losses. The Russian soldiers in Slovyansk reportedly fired mortars, barrel and jet artillery in several settlements and were also accused of shelling several civilian infrastructures in their efforts to advance in the city, according to a Facebook post published by the General Staff of the UAF.

The Ukrainian army also forced Russian troops advancing in several directions, including Bakhmut, Mykhailivka, Pavlivka and Novomykhailivka, to withdraw.

The Ukrainian military continues to resist Russian advances in Donetsk, which together with Luhansk makes up the eastern Donbas region. When the invasion began in February, the Russians had planned to take over the capital city of Kyiv. However, the Ukrainian military’s defenses forced the Russians to retreat and instead focus their efforts on capturing the industrial region of Donbas.

The region is now witnessing heavy firing, with at least eight settlements coming under fire from Saturday through Sunday. At least three civilians were killed and 12 were injured in the attacks, according to a Telegram post by Donetsk Regional Military Administration Head Pavlo Kyrylenko. Most of the settlements targeted were located just west of the occupied Luhansk region.

As part of their efforts to take over Donbas, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Saturday ordered his country’s troops to “further intensify” military action to prevent Ukrainian strikes in Russian-held territories.

"(Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu) gave the necessary instructions to further increase the actions of groups in all operational areas in order to exclude the possibility of the Kyiv regime to launch massive rocket and artillery strikes on civilian infrastructure and residents of settlements in Donbas and other regions," the Russian defense ministry said in a statement posted on its website, CNN reported.

As of Sunday, the Ukrainian government still holds about 45% of the Donetsk region.