According to British estimates, Russian forces have penetrated the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, which has been fought over for months. “Russian infantry are now likely to have established themselves in the industrial areas of the east of the city and sometimes advanced into the residential areas of the city,” the Ministry of Defense in London said today.
Russian troops in Bakhmut are regular soldiers and mercenaries from the Wagner group. “The street fighting continues,” London said. There have been fights for Bakhmut in the Donetsk region since June. So far, the front has run to the east of the city. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently paid a surprise visit to Bakhmut and handed out medals and gifts to soldiers.
North of Bakhmut, Russian troops tried to reach better positions near Kupjansk, according to a recent report by the Ukrainian General Staff. There, the Russian army used “its full spectrum” of artillery against at least 15 settlements. Information from Kyiv could not be independently verified.