Russia has acknowledged that its forces have retreated north of the battleground city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, while the head of Russia’s Wagnerian mercenaries called the retreat a “routine”.
The Russian setback followed reports that Ukraine was making progress around the city and that it was pushing for a coordinated effort to encircle Russian forces in Bakhmut. Bakhmut has been Russia’s main target in recent months and has seen some of the bloodiest fighting in the Russo-Ukrainian war.
That means both sides are now reporting the most progress Ukraine has made in six months, though Ukraine has provided few details and played down the notion that a long-planned counteroffensive has officially begun.
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Ukraine had launched an offensive north of Bakhmut with more than 1,000 troops and as many as 40 tanks. The scale, if confirmed, would be Ukraine’s largest offensive since November.
Konashenkov said Russia had repelled 26 attacks, but troops in one area had retreated to a more favorable position near the Bershivka reservoir northwest of Bakhmut to regroup.
Which forces control all parts of Ukraine?
Russian forces shelled Vovchansk in the Kharkov region, killing at least one person and wounding three others. The head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner Group continues to complain that his fighters have failed to receive enough ammunition from Russia (Al Jazeera)
Yevgeny Prigozin, head of the Russian Wagnerian mercenary unit leading the military operation in the city, noted in an audio message, “Unfortunately, what Konashenkov described should be called a ‘rout’, rather than regrouping.”
In another video message, Prigozin said Ukrainians had seized the heights overlooking Bakhmut and opened up the main road leading to the city from the west.
“The loss of the Bershivka reservoir – the loss of the territory they gave up – is 5 square kilometers, just today,” Prigozin noted.
Prigoze said, “The enemy has completely liberated the Chasif Yar-Bahmut road that we blocked. The enemy can now use this road. Secondly, they have also taken a tactical high position in the area where Bakhmut is located. round”, Prigozin has repeatedly condemned the Russian regular army over the past week for failing to resupply his troops in Bakhmut.
Ukraine typically declines to comment on its actions during operations, with its military command saying only that its forces had advanced nearly two kilometers near Bakhmut.
“Frontlines change back and forth”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he had met with the Ukrainian army’s top commander, General Alexander Shirsky, on Tuesday, who reported that his forces had “stopped the enemy and even pushed him back in some directions.” .
In his nightly address to the Ukrainian people, Zelensky praised the Ukrainian military and pointed to the low morale of the Russian army.
“Occupiers are mentally prepared to lose. They have lost the war in their heads,” he added. “We have to push them every day so that their frustration becomes their retreat, their mistake.” , their loss.”
Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Marial issued a statement on social platforms on the 12th, confirming that the Ukrainian army has made progress around Bakhmut and reiterated the statement issued by the military commander earlier this week.
On the other hand, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that the United States assesses that Bahmut is still a contested territory.
“The Ukrainians haven’t given up their defense of Bakhmut, and the Russians haven’t given up their attempt to take Bakhmut,” Kirby said. “Every day, the local fronts change back and forth. I mean, sometimes block by block.” Neighborhoods change.”
At least two people have been killed and 22 wounded in fighting elsewhere in the country since the 11th of this month, according to data provided by the Ukrainian president’s office.
Donetsk Oblast Governor Pavlo Kirilenko said Russia attacked Kramatorsk, where some Ukrainian military units are stationed, and destroyed a school and residential buildings there. He also noted that Russia shelled 11 cities and villages in the region, killing 12 civilians.
Russia has been preparing for the expected onslaught since late last year, building anti-tank lines hundreds of miles ahead.
It has also begun evacuating civilians living south of the conflict zone in Ukraine’s part-occupied Zaporozhye.
In comments published on the 12th, the commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet pointed out that due to a series of Ukrainian drone attacks on the fleet’s base, the port of Sevastopol in Crimea, the fleet is currently in the Strengthen your own defenses.