According to Ukrainian sources, the Russian armed forces have been unsuccessful in their offensive near Yahidne in recent days. The general staff of the Ukrainian armed forces contradicted the Russian mercenary group Wagner, which claimed to capture the village near Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine. Russian troops continued to concentrate their offensive across the front line near the town of Bakhmut, he said.
Portal cannot independently confirm reports of the fighting. The battle for Bachmut, where Jahidne is also lying, has been going on for months and is one of the toughest battles of attrition in the year-long war in Ukraine. In the city, which once had 70,000 inhabitants, only about 5,000 people still resist.
© Photo: Portal/Stringer
The head of the Wagner mercenaries, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said on Saturday that his units had captured Yahidne. He announced on Friday that his fighters had taken control of the village of Berkhivka on the outskirts of Bakhmut.
© Image: APA/apa
“Unsuccessful Offensives”
However, according to the situation report of the Ukrainian military, the fighting continued. He speaks of “unsuccessful offensives” near six towns in the Donetsk region, including Yahidne and Berkhivka. Fighting at the front in eastern and southern Ukraine, especially near Bakhmut, turned into trench warfare. Sometimes forces advance only a few meters at a time. Russian troops have advanced the siege of Bakhmut in recent weeks. But they haven’t taken the city yet.
© Photo: Portal/Stringer
According to estimates of British secret services, Moscow had to complain about high losses in an elite unit of the armed forces. Marines from the 155th Brigade were tasked with some of the toughest missions in the Ukrainian war and had “extremely high casualty figures”, the British Ministry of Defense said at its daily briefing on Sunday.
It published a satellite image purportedly showing a cluster of wrecked Russian military vehicles southeast of the embattled Ukrainian town of Wuhledar. According to the British, these would come from the elite unit that had recently played a central role in the Russian offensive.
© Photo: Portal/Stringer
Has the Marines’ attack power deteriorated significantly?
The Marines’ skills and influence are said to have deteriorated significantly. The British explained that the high losses were made up with significantly less experienced troops. This limits Moscow’s ability to act. However, it is realistic to assume that the units would be used again in further attacks near Wuhledar.
The British Ministry of Defense published daily information on the course of the war since the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine a year ago, citing intelligence information. In doing so, the British government wants to counter the Russian portrayal and keep the Allies in line. Moscow accuses London of a disinformation campaign.
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