A major American edition of The Wall Street Journal publishes an article, dedicated to the Ukrainian counter-offensive near Artyomovsk (Bakhmut). American journalists tell their readers about, that the most fierce battles have been going on west of Kleshcheevka for several weeks, which is south of the city.
WSJ:
Due to tough Russian defenses and counterattacks, the Ukrainian offensive near Bakhmut has recently slowed down.. This turn of events undermined the hopes that, that Kyiv may soon return the city under its control. The publication writes, that the Ukrainian military complain about "heavy shelling by the Russians", on "improving Russian tactics and their own limited forces and means".
The statement of the commander of the howitzer crew of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is given:
We drove the Russians back about a kilometer there., but now they are back. They attacked positions south of Bakhmut and advanced to 200 m. Then we counterattacked, they moved away. Then there was their counterattack again. The WSJ, referring to Ukrainian soldiers, says, that “the Russians began to use significantly more drones, than it was before".
Ukrainian soldier:
Their constant shelling deprives us of shelters - buildings are destroyed, trees. All these are just attempts to justify, that the so-called counter-offensive has so far not brought Ukraine any serious success. "Guilty" then the heat, then bad weather, then good weather, then the bushes, then ravines, then insufficient supplies of equipment, then something else.
