The Ukrainian army, which has been cornered in West Bachmout and the surrounding area for several weeks, claims to have stabilized the front line and hopes “to be able to exploit Russian fatigue very soon”.
A growing self-confidence. Chief of Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Valery Saluzhny said on Friday evening his troops had managed to “stabilize” the situation around Bakhmout, the epicenter of eight months of fighting against Russian forces in eastern Ukraine.
The city, which had around 70,000 inhabitants before the Russian invasion of Ukraine at the end of February 2022 but is now deserted of civilians, is the scene of the longest and bloodiest battle since the outbreak of war.
“Heavy human casualties” on both sides
The “most difficult” situation at the front is “around Bachmout,” Valery Zaluzhny said in a phone call with British Chief of Staff Sir Tony Radakin. “Thanks to the enormous efforts of the defense forces, we are able to stabilize the situation,” Valery Zalushny wrote on Facebook.
Russian forces sometimes report hard-won areas around the city, which from a purely military point of view has become more of a symbol than a strategic location over the course of the fighting.
According to a British intelligence report released on Saturday, “Russia’s offensive on the town of Bakhmout in the Donbass region has largely come to a halt.” “It is very likely primarily the result of the extreme attrition of Russian forces,” the British said in a statement, stressing that Kiev had also “suffered heavy human casualties.”
A Ukrainian counter-offensive in the coming days?
Commander of Ukraine’s Ground Forces Oleksandre Syrsky told Telegram on Thursday that a counter-offensive against “exhausted” Russian forces could be launched near Bakhmout “very soon”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Ukrainian troops near the Bakhmut front on Wednesday.
Yevgeny Prigoyine, head of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, whose men are on the front lines in the battle, said Monday that his forces controlled about 70% of the city.
In recent weeks, Russian forces have advanced north and south of Bakhmut, cutting off several Ukrainian supply routes.