Ukrainian military denies Russia's claims that Ivanivske was captured
On 23 March, the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that the Russian troops had captured the village of Ivanivske , located southwest of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region. The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has not confirmed the information put forth by the Russian command.
The Russians reported the allegedly "successful" actions of their "South" group units, which they claimed had gained an advantage in "Krasnoye", the term the Russians use for Ivanivske. The Russian Defense Ministry said that Russian armed forces had "improved the tactical situation at the front line" in this sector.
Stanislav Bunyatov, a volunteer from the 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces with the call sign "Osman", responded to the Russian Defense Ministry's statement. On the Telegram channel "Govorit Snayper +" (The sniper is speaking), he clarified that the Russians had failed to make any advancements in Ivanivske.
Experts from the DeepState, in an update published on 22 March, specifically mentioned the fighting around Ivanivske, stating that "heavy combat" was ongoing there. The latest changes on an online combat map were marked on 20 March, indicating that the "gray zone" had extended by 100 meters to the north of a road leading from Bakhmut to Ivanivske and Chasiv Yar.
The situation on the Bakhmut front was also discussed in the Ukrainian General Staff's morning report on 23 March. Ukrainian command noted that there had been five Russian attacks in this segment over the preceding 12 hours. The points of attack were located south of Bakhmut and included the villages of Ivanivske, Andriivka, and Klishchiivka. In addition, the Ukrainian command provided details on other fronts, with the most intense activity reported near Novopavlivsk (28 assault attempts) and around Avdiivka (10 assualts).
By 23 March, almost a year had passed since the spring of 2023, when Ukrainian forces had to abandon Bakhmut due to pressure from the Russian armed forces. As of this date, the Russian troops are exerting pressure northwest near Bohdanivka, according to Ukrainian military. Another Russian direction of attack is southwest, near Ivanivske.
On 22 March, Aleksey Tarasenko, deputy commander of the assault battalion of the 5th Separate Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, mentioned that fighting for every house continued in Ivanivske. The week before, another Ukrainian soldier confirmed that streets and houses in the settlement were constantly changing hands, making it unclear if the Russian armed forces were successful.