Bakhmut Conflict: Russian Forces Use Airstrikes and Artillery to Prevent Ukrainian Army’s Advancement

Although Russia announced last month that it had taken control of the city, Ukraine continues to deny such claims.

Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar reports that the Russian armed forces are using airstrikes and artillery there to prevent the Ukrainian army from advancing.

“They are carrying out airstrikes and artillery strikes, that is, their offensive activity has decreased in some places. Of course, this does not mean that they have abandoned their plans and stopped No. They will go further, and now they are only getting stronger. And we are currently preparing for the future for the fight for our east.

Because the primary task of the enemy is to reach the borders of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which they cannot do.”

Meanwhile, the Russian mercenary group “Wagner” has published a video in which, according to the leader of the group Yevgeniy Prigozhin, the removal of militants from Bakhmut can be seen.

The Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine states that the Russian forces stopped the offensive in some directions of the front line in order to rotate the groups of soldiers fighting in Bakhmut.

“The task of defending Bahmut was completed. What is this military task? It had several directions. The first is the destruction of the enemy, and in fact tens of thousands of “Wagners” were destroyed there. If they had not been destroyed during the defense of Bahmut, we can imagine that they, tens of thousands , would have gone deep into the territory of Ukraine,” says Maļara.

“They were stopped and destroyed there, nowhere else will they go. The enemy’s attack force has been reduced.”

Ukrainian defenders continue to defend Bakhmut from positions on the outskirts of the city. Watching images from a drone camera, a Ukrainian battalion commander warns his men in nearby trenches about the advance of Russian troops near Bakhmut.

“The war will go on and on. That is, we will advance on the flanks. It is difficult for me to comment on the situation in general, with the counterattack, the situation of other units and how they are moving forward.

I can say for myself and I can answer for my unit that we are moving forward, fulfilling the combat tasks assigned by the higher command,” says battalion commander Oleg Shiryayev.

Maliara said that Russia is trying to create an impression of peace around Bakhmut, but in reality, artillery fire is still occurring at the level it was at the height of the fighting. She indicates that the struggle is developing into a new phase.

CONTEXT:

Fierce battles for the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region have been going on since August 2022. This city became one of the main targets of Russian attacks, and the Russian forces led by the mercenary group “Wagner” suffered huge losses there.

During the hostilities, the city, which had around 70,000 inhabitants before the war, has been almost completely destroyed.

In May 2023, Russia once again announced that it had fully captured Bakhmut, but the Ukrainian leadership denies this and says that fighting for the city continues.

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