File on the war between Ukraine and RussiaUkrainians are said to have advanced 2 kilometers near the city, where fierce fighting has been going on for several weeks. According to Evgueny Prigojine, the Russians are fleeing their positions.
The Russians have been harassing Bakhmout for weeks, but the Ukrainians are holding out and even going on the offensive again. Kiev announced on Friday, May 12, that it had taken areas around the devastated city, the epicenter of fighting with Russia, at a time when a massive counter-offensive is looming. In Kyiv, Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Ganna Malyar assured this Friday that her “defense forces have advanced two kilometers near Bakhmout,” adding, “We have not lost any position in the city this week.”
The Russian army on Thursday evening spoke out against Ukrainian forces denying a breach of its defenses after another senior Ukrainian official confirmed a withdrawal of Russian forces to certain areas near Bachmout on Wednesday. But this Friday, a speech by the head of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner seems to confirm Ukraine’s progress. In a video, Yevgeny Prigoyine accused Russian regulars of “fleeing” their positions and said the defenses had “collapsed.” He also claims that the Russian General Staff is downplaying the situation. “There was quite simply a flight of Defense Ministry units to the flanks,” denounces Bakhmout Prigoyine: “Attempts by the Defense Ministry in the information sphere to dilute the situation are leading and will lead to a global tragedy for Russia.”
In an interview broadcast by the BBC on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that Kiev still needs time and weapons to launch a much-anticipated counter-offensive. Yevgeny Prigoyine then accused him of “dishonesty” and claimed that the Ukrainian counter-offensive was “in full swing”. This Friday morning, the Russian army said it had repelled 26 Ukrainian attacks on a 95-kilometer front in the Soledar sector (in the east of the country) the day before. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, “more than 1,000 military personnel and up to 40 tanks” were involved in the attacks.
The battle for Bakhmout (population about 70,000 before the war), a town largely destroyed and controlled by Russian forces, is the longest and deadliest since the Russian invasion began in February 2022.