March 25 (Portal) – Ukrainian forces have managed to blunt Russia’s offensive in and around the embattled eastern city of Bakhmut, where the situation is stabilizing, Commander-in-Chief General Valery Zaluzhniy said on Saturday.
Separately, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said the month-long Russian assault on the city had stalled, largely due to heavy troop losses.
Military experts say there are clear signs that Russia is running out of equipment, particularly heavy tanks.
President Vladimir Putin told state television that Russia plans to build and upgrade a total of 1,600 tanks over the next three years, far more than the 440 he said Western nations would supply to Ukraine over the same period.
Bakhmut is a key Russian target as it seeks to fully conquer Ukraine’s industrialized Donbass region. At one point, Russian commanders expressed confidence that the city would soon fall, but such claims have waned amid heavy fighting.
“The direction of Bakhmut is the most difficult. Thanks to the titanic efforts of the Defense Forces, the situation is stabilizing,” Zaluzhniy said in a Telegram post after speaking with British counterpart Tony Radakin.
Russian attacks in and around Bakhmut have dropped to less than 20 a day, compared to 30 or more in recent days, online news agency Novoe Vremia quoted Ukrainian military spokesman Serhiy Cherevaty as saying.
In addition to promising more tanks, Putin reiterated his criticism of British plans to supply Ukraine with main battle tank ammunition containing depleted uranium.
“Russia, of course, has something to answer. We have, without exaggeration, hundreds of thousands, hundreds of thousands of such shells. We haven’t used them yet,” he said.
Pro-Moscow troops are also attacking positions further south at Avdiivka on the outskirts of the Russian-held city of Donetsk and further north at Svatove.
Britain’s MoD said in a daily update Russia most likely wants to stabilize its front lines and will take a more defensive operational stance.
The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said in a Facebook post that Russian attacks in and around Avdiivka on Saturday were repelled, but gave few details.
Reporting by David Ljunggren in Ottawa. Editing by Daniel Wallis and Matthew Lewis
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