Invaders moving reserves to Bakhmut area – Ukraine's deputy defense minister

Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Maliar said this at a briefing on Thursday, June 15, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"Now, the defense forces are both on the offensive and on the defensive. In the Bakhmut area, the enemy is currently moving additional reserves and is trying to prevent the advance of the Ukrainian defense forces with all their might. We have recorded an enemy airborne assault unit moving from the south to the Bakhmut direction, and in fact, the enemy there continues to concentrate its huge forces - both personnel and military hardware - in order to prevent the advance of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," Maliar said.

However, she said, Ukraine's defense forces do not allow the enemy to implement their plans.

"The enemy cannot advance there and cannot effectively restrain the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Therefore, in the past one-and-a-half weeks, the advance in the area of operational responsibility of the Khortytsia operational and strategic grouping amounted to more than 3 km," Maliar said.

According to her, Ukraine's defense forces are advancing "gradually but confidently" on the southern axis. The invaders put up a stiff resistance. The Ukrainian armed forces are faced with minefields, kamikaze drones and intense shelling.