Bakhmut sees advances from Russian forces.

07.04.2023

British intelligence reports revealed that Russian forces have made tangible progress in controlling the Ukrainian Bakhmut, while Kiev said that Russian attempts to “encircle the city are failing” and that it is “completely in control of the situation.”

Russian forces made progress in controlling territory in the city ofBakhmutThe besieged eastern Ukraine, according to the British Intelligence Service. The British Ministry of Defense stated today, Friday (April 7, 2023), in its regular update on the war, that Russian forces may have made their way into the city center and took control of the western bank of the “Bakhmutka” river. “.

This means that a key Ukraine supply route to the west of the town “may have been seriously threatened,” the report added. And the report added that after the Russian forces hardly made any progress in Bakhmut, since the end of last March, Moscow significantly increased its presence in the region and also deployed more artillery.

The British intelligence service said there was also a “realistic possibility” that tensions between Moscow and Russia would easeRussian Wagner Security Group Domestically, the two sides improved cooperation.

Ukrainian forces have been defending Bakhmut, in the eastern Donetsk region, for months, but most of the city and parts of its center are already under Russian control. However, Ukrainian units are stationed in the western part of the city, which previously housed 70,000 people.

A difficult situation

In turn, Andrei Yermak, a senior adviser to Zelensky, said, “(Battles) are taking place in the streets, and the enemy’s attempts to surround the city are failing. Our leadership is in complete control of the situation.”

As for the commander of the Russian private military Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigogne, he said that fighting is raging in the western side of the city. “We must clearly say that the enemy is not achieving any success,” he added on his Telegram channel.

Prigogne repeatedly complains about the lack of weapons available to his fighters in Bakhmut. But Levko Stek of the Ukrainian border guards said in a video clip of the explosions that the Ukrainian forces do not detect any “lack of weapons” on the Russian side.

Western analysts underestimate the strategic importance of Bakhmut, but Ukraine makes its desperate defense of it a means of exhausting the Russian forces before launching a counterattack with the support of modern weapons provided by the West.

The months-long battle for control of Bakhmut, one of the last urban centers in the eastern Donetsk region not yet to fall to Moscow, has become one of the bloodiest battles of the war.

Zero chance

In addition, a senior Russian official said that there is no chance for peace talks this year, while French President Emmanuel Macron urged Chinese President Xi Jinping to persuade Russia to negotiate an end to the most dangerous conflict in Europe since World War II.

After talks in Beijing on Thursday with Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der LeyenXi said he hoped Russia and Ukraine could hold negotiations as soon as possible and warned all countries against using nuclear weapons.

He did not express willingness to speak to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyalthough von der Leyen said Xi told her a dialogue could take place when “the circumstances and time are right.”

China and Russia have declared a “borderless” partnership and Xi is seeking to present China as a mediator in the Ukraine conflict. China had previously proposed a 12-point peace plan, but the West rejected it in general, in light of China’s reluctance to condemn Russia for invading its neighbor.

Addressing Xi as they stood side by side outside the Great Hall of the People before their meeting, Macron said that “Russia’s aggression in Ukraine has dealt a blow to stability.” “I know I can count on you to bring Russia back to reason and everyone to the negotiating table,” Macron added.

There are currently no talks aimed at ending the warOn Thursday, the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera quoted Dmitry Suslov as a consultant Russian President Vladimir Putin He said there were “zero chances” for peace talks in 2023.

Putin says his country’s “special military operation” in Ukraine was necessary to eradicate Ukrainian Nazis and defend Russia from a hostile West, in what Ukraine and its allies describe as an unprovoked invasion.

The war has claimed thousands of lives, destroyed cities, displaced millions and destabilized the global economy.

Leaked documents

A Ukrainian presidential official said on Friday that leaked classified documents detailing secret U.S. and NATO plans to help Kiev appeared to be a Russian disinformation operation to sow doubts about Ukraine’s planned counterattack.

Mykhailo Podolyak told Reuters that the leaked information published by the New York Times contained “a very large amount of fake information” and that Russia was trying to regain the initiative in the invasion. “They are just ordinary elements of the KGB’s games. Nothing more,” he said in a written statement.

Reuters was unable to review the leaked documents.

The New York Times reported Thursday that the Pentagon is investigating how documents were released on social media this week detailing plans to reinforce Ukraine’s military in preparation for the planned counteroffensive.

For months, Ukrainian forces have been facing a Russian offensive in the east, centered around the city of Bakhmut. It hopes to launch a counteroffensive in the coming weeks or months to retake Russian-controlled territory.

The newspaper report said that the documents appear to have been modified in certain parts. One part gave an estimate of Ukrainian military losses that was much higher than Western estimates available so far.

Ukraine does not reveal the extent of its losses and is very sensitive to this matter.

A.G/A.S (DPA, Reuters)