Ukraine forces have liberated a key frontline town of Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk region, but ordered the evacuation of civilians from the southern Kherson region.

Andriivka was back under Ukrainian control, the country's General Staff said on Friday, adding that troops "inflicted significant losses on the enemy in terms of manpower and equipment, and entrenched at the occupied frontiers."

Andriivka is around 14 kilometers south of Bakhmut, with an estimated pre-war population of fewer than 100 people.

Meanwhile, the Regional Defense Counsel of Kherson decided to compulsorily evacuate families with children from areas subject to constant enemy fire, governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Telegram.

Russian troops control areas in the Kherson region south of the Dniepr river, following their withdrawal last year from the city of Kherson, the regional capital, which they regularly shell.

WITH AFP