In Bakhmout, the pressure on the Ukrainian army is increasing
Russian troops continue to advance into the northern outskirts of Bakhmout, an iconic city defended by the Ukrainian army.
“Ukrainian defenses of the town of Bakhmout are under increasing pressure, with intense fighting in and around the town,” Britain’s MoD tweeted on Saturday. He reported an “advance” of the “Wagner group and the regular Russian army into the northern suburbs of the city, which can now be attacked from three sides”.
As a result, “Kiev is reinforcing the area with elite units and in the last 36 hours two key bridges in Bakhmout have been destroyed, including a vital bridge connecting the city to the last main supply route,” the UK ministry continued.
Villages north and west of Bakhmout were attacked on Saturday, Serhi Cherevaty, spokesman for the Eastern Grouping of Ukrainian Armed Forces, told CNN on Saturday, reporting a total of 131 attacks on that front.
The battle for Bakhmout, an industrial city whose strategic importance is disputed, has been ongoing since the summer of 2022. The city has become a symbol as it has been at the center of fighting between Russians and Ukrainians for months.
Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) say Russian forces are unlikely to encircle Bakhmout any time soon. The ISW, in its bulletin published Saturday night, estimates that “Ukrainian forces are much more likely to withdraw than be surrounded” and even “might still be able to hold their positions at Bakhmout.”