1 of 1 Ukrainian military on the street outside the city of Bakhmut on February 13, 2023 — Photo: Yevhenii Zavhorodnii/Portal Ukrainian military on the street outside the city of Bakhmut on February 13, 2023 — Photo: Yevhenii Zavhorodnii/ Portal
The Ukrainian military said on Monday (13) that humanitarian and civilian relief groups operating in the area of the city of Bakhmut are no longer allowed to enter the city.
The Ukrainian army said the decision was made because of the risk of street fighting in the city.
According to The New York Times, this decision indicates that the Ukrainians have plans to withdraw from the city, despite the army’s insistence on maintaining control of Bakhmut.
Russia claims it has managed to advance troops on the battlefront in eastern Ukraine
- Russians are slowly advancing on town considered a Ukrainian “fortress”.
- Putin assured the mediators that he would not kill Zelenskyy when invading Ukraine
city bombed
Bakhmut is located in eastern Ukraine, in the Donetsk province.
According to local authorities, days before the first anniversary of the war (the invasion began on February 24, 2022), the Russians are launching a new offensive.
Ukrainian military officials said Ukrainian defenders, who have been holding out for months, are prepared for more ground attacks.
The positions in Bakhmut were fortified and only persons with military functions were allowed to enter.
At this point in the war, Bakhmut is Russian President Vladimir Putin’s primary target, and his capture would give Russia a new point of dominance in the Donetsk region (and a rare victory after several months of setbacks).
The Donetsk and Luhansk regions make up the Donbass, Ukraine’s industrial heartland now partially occupied by Russia, which wants total control.
The Russian attack on Bakhmut was led by Wagner Group mercenaries, who made small but steady gains. The new Russian bombing raids made the situation even more acute.
The Russian attack on Bakhmut was led by a group of mercenaries linked to Russian forces, the Wagner Group. They won small but consistent victories in the confrontation. The new Russian bombing raids made the situation for the Ukrainians even more critical.
“The city, the city’s suburbs, the entire perimeter and essentially the entire direction of Bakhmut and Kostyantynivka are under mad and chaotic shelling,” said Volodymyr Nazarenko, deputy commander of Ukraine’s Svoboda Battalion.
Nazarenko said while there was no fighting in the city center, the defenders were ready to face any attack.
“The city is a fortress, every position and every street there, almost every building, is a fortress,” he said.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its troops had advanced along front lines without specifying where.
The Ukrainian military reported Russian shelling along the front line and said 16 settlements near Bakhmut had been bombed. He said that the day before his forces repelled attacks near Bakhmut, as well as attacks in the Kharkiv, Luhansk and Zaporizhia regions.