Ukraine is about to launch a counter-offensive against the Russian army. According to the commander of the Kiev land forces, Oleksandr Syrski, in the battle for Bakhmut, Russian forces are “significantly losing strength and are exhausted.” “Very soon we will seize this opportunity, as we have done in the past near Kiev, Kharkiv, Balakliya and Kupyansk,” says Syrski, listing last year’s Ukrainian counter-offensives that proved to be turning points in the war .
Ukrainian officials and Western analysts said the Russian offensive around Bakhmut appears to have stalled. Despite the massive deployment of people and weapons, the Russian military has not yet managed to capture the city of Donbass after months of fighting.
According to Ukrainian military sources, Russia has not reduced the intensity of its raids in Donetsk: 200 attacks have been recorded in the Bakhmut region over the past 24 hours. However, the offensive costs hundreds of men daily. Bakhmut remains “at the center of enemy attacks,” said Serhii Cherevatyi, spokesman for the Eastern Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Nothing has changed in the Russian strategy in the past few days: the focus is on Wagner mercenaries, supported by Russian armed forces.
“There will be no more Wagner fighters if they continue with the same dynamics,” says Cherevatyi, noting that north of Bakhmut, in the Lyman and Kupyansk areas, the role of mercenaries is being reduced. “Our goal now is to resist, weaken the enemy while other units in Ukraine and abroad are trained, equipped with new equipment, and coordinate their actions.”