![Ukraine Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar sent out a post claiming troops had captured Andriivka. (EPA PHOTO) Ukraine Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar sent out a post claiming troops had captured Andriivka. (EPA PHOTO)](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-feed-data/17010663-00fd-443b-a349-efe0925580c8.jpg/r0_0_800_600_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Troops from Ukraine's 3rd Separate Assault Brigade have criticised a government minister's claim that they had liberated the key village of Andriivka from Russian occupiers.
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Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar had earlier posted: "Andriivka is ours" before appearing to delete it on Telegram.
"Statements of this kind are harmful, endanger the lives of the troops and affect how deployments are conducted," the brigade said, also on Telegram.
"The statement about taking Andriivka is false and premature."
The brigade said heavy fighting was continuing in three villages to the south of Bakhmut.
The war, which started with Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February last year, is reaching a crucial phase given the Ukrainian counteroffensive is likely to slow as the weather worsens over the coming months.
The confusion over Andriivka is a rare row in the Ukrainian camp.
The village in eastern Ukraine is less than 10km south of the much-fought-over city of Bakhmut, which is in Russian hands.
Russian military bloggers had earlier reported on the withdrawal of Kremlin troops from Andriivka and Klishchiivka.
The information cannot be independently verified.
Ukrainian troops have been pressuring Russian forces around Bakhmut for months as part of the counteroffensive.
On the southern section of the front, Ukrainian troops in August reported the liberation of the village of Robotyne, which is considered part of an important Russian defensive line.
The Crimean peninsula - annexed by Russia in 2014 but still internationally recognised as Ukraine - was again the site of Ukrainian attacks overnight, with heavy explosions reported during a drone strike.
According to Ukrainian media there were explosions near the western city of Yevpatoriya.
A modern S-400 air defence system was hit, the Ukrainska Pravda newspaper reported citing a source at the Ukrainian secret service.
The Russian military has not confirmed any damage but did say it had brought down 11 drones.
Local residents filmed the explosions during the night and posted them online, showing a large column of fire in the night sky.
The Ukrainian military press office said there were several military objects in the area which were targeted.
Separately the Russian Defence Ministry said a patrol boat belonging to its Black Sea Fleet was targeted by underwater drones.
The drones were destroyed, the ministry said.
The Ukrainian army said on Thursday that it had damaged two Russian patrol ships.
"There is some damage," the army's strategic communications department said.
The information could not be independently verified.
On Wednesday, Ukraine attacked a shipyard in the large Crimean port city of Sevastopol with cruise missiles, reportedly hitting the docks, a large landing ship and a submarine.
A Russian attack in the southern region of Kherson on Thursday killed a six-year-old boy, Ukrainian prosecutors said.
The child's 13-year-old brother was also seriously injured in the shelling, as were three neighbours who rushed to help - including a teenager.
The Prosecutor General's Office in Kyiv says it has documented 504 cases of Ukrainian children being killed in the Russian invasion.
In total, Russia attacked nine regions of Ukraine with artillery, drones and other weapon systems within the past 24 hours, according to Kyiv officials.
The Ukrainian military said it had shot down 17 of 22 "kamikaze" drones deployed by Russia.
Australian Associated Press