According to the words of the Ukrainian commanders, a major upheaval took place in Bakhmut.
Ukrainian soldiers pushed Russian forces from some positions in Bakhmut in fierce fighting, a Ukrainian general said Monday night, as the White House believes more than 20,000 Russian fighters have been killed in the war in Ukraine since December. “The situation in Bakhmut is quite difficult,” Lt. Gen. Oleksandr Sirski, the commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, announced on Telegram, a messaging app.
“At the same time, in some parts of the city, the enemy experienced a counterattack by our units in the past few days and abandoned some positions,” Sirsky said. 2022. New Russian units, including paratroopers and fighters from the Wagner mercenary group, are “constantly throwing themselves into battle” despite heavy losses, Sirsky said. But the enemy is unable to take control of the city,” the Ukrainian general added.
The White House announced on Monday, citing US intelligence, that in the past five months, around 80,000 Russian fighters have been wounded in Ukraine, and more than 20,000 have been killed, almost half of them from the Wagner group. No information was given for the Ukrainian side.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the capture of Bahmut was of “very little strategic value” to Russia. “For Russia, this attempt, especially in Bakhmut, came at a terribly, terribly high price,” Kirby said, referring to the large number of casualties. Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Telegram on Monday that his fighters needed about 300 tons of artillery shells a day. for the attack on Bahmut, but that they received only a third of that amount.
“Three hundred tons a day is 10 cargo containers – not a lot at all,” said Prigozhin, who has frequently clashed with the Russian defense establishment over the conduct of the war in Ukraine and what he says is insufficient support for its fighters. In a separate statement Monday night, Prigozhin said his forces had advanced about 120 meters in Bakhmut.Kiev is expected to launch a counter-offensive soon to liberate parts of territory in eastern and southern Ukraine.
In recent days, Russia has stepped up its missile attacks on Ukrainian cities, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for the strengthening of air defense. “Just last night, from midnight to seven in the morning, we managed to shoot down 15 Russian missiles. Unfortunately, we didn’t succeed in all of them,” Zelensky said in a regular night address, adding that Kyiv is working with partners to better protect Ukrainian skies.
(WORLD)