Ukrainian Forces continue offensive near Bakhmut
Ukrainian troops continue their offensive near Bakhmut. Over the past day, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have advanced more than a kilometer in different areas around the city, said the Deputy Defense Minister of Ukraine, Hanna Malyar.
"Now the enemy is moving its reserves to this direction," Malyar added.
According to her, as of today, the Russian regular army is conducting military operations, airborne assault detachments have been involved. The mercenaries of the Wagner Group also remain in some places.
"It was possible to keep the defense of the Bakhmut direction for so long and now it is possible to attack thanks to the fortifications prepared in advance. The whole area around it is actually a fortified area. Fortifications were prepared in advance by our troops and local military administrations. They built them thoroughly," the Deputy Defense Minister emphasized.
This morning, the Ukrainian General Staff reported that over the past day in the Bakhmut direction, the Russians attempted to attack in the direction of Klishchiivka but had no success.
In recent weeks, fighting in this sector of the front has intensified. While previously Wagner PMC units had been able to capture a big part of Bakhmut, the Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to advance on the flanks.
The Commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, Colonel-General, Oleksandr Syrskyi, published a video showing the work of the soldiers of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade near Bakhmut. The video shows how the Ukrainians storm the Russian positions as the Russians retreat.
"The defense forces continue to move forward on the flanks, the enemy is losing ground near Bakhmut," Syrskyi said.
The head of the Wagner PMC, Evgeny Prigozhin, confirmed that units of the Ukrainian army continue a counterattack in the Bakhmut area, cutting off and driving Russian troops into a trap. According to him, on Tuesday, the Russians lost positions near Razdolivka, north of Bakhmut.
Prigozhin claims that the Russian army may become completely encircled if Ukrainian Forces are able to break through the Russian defense lines from Azaryanovka, Kurdyumivka and Toretsk.
"If we start retreating, then we will continue to retreat first to the Wagner defense line, and after that we don't know where to go," he said.