For the past three days, Russian forces have conducted a tactical offensive towards the city center of Bakhmut (Artyomovsk) in the Donetsk region.. It appears that parts of the Second Army Corps of the pro-Russian militia in the Luhansk region have been occupied the settlements of Opytnoe and Ivangrad south of the cityaccording to a British military intelligence report this morning, quoted by the BBC’s Russian service.
Since the beginning of July, there have been few, if any, other settlements captured by Russian or separatist regular forces.said the British army.
However forces led by the private military company (PMC) Wagner have achieved some success in the Donbass. “Wagner” is still actively involved in hostilities in the Bakhmut region.
Russia likely sees Bakhmut’s capture as preparation for an offensive against Kramatorsk and Slavyanskthe largest settlements in the Donetsk region which are under Ukrainian control.
Russia continues to conduct offensive actions in the center of Donbass, although it is advancing very slowly.
However, the overall operational plan was undermined by Ukrainian pressure on the northern and southern flanksas well as the severe shortage of ammunition and manpower, according to the British military intelligence report.
The financier of the “Wagner” group Yevgeny Prigogine probably continues his efforts to distinguish between himself and forces by more conventional Russian troops and by proxy. Prigozhin pointed out in a comment to the Russian publication RIA FAN that Wagner Group forces alone took control of Ivangrad, a settlement south of Bakhmut, on 13 October. This was announced this morning by the Institute for the Study of Wine (ISW).
However, the Territorial Defense Forces of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) say that the joint forces of the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) and the DPR have taken control of Ivangrad and the nearby village of Opytne, apparently contradicting the claim of Prigozhin said “not a single person from other units, except employees of the private military company Wagner” was in Ivangrad at the time of his capture.
Furthermore, Prigozhin denied claims that Russian forces had captured Opytne and claimed that fierce fighting was taking place on its periphery.
The discrepancy between Prigozhin’s claims and the DPR’s Territorial Defense, as well as Prigozhin’s apparent desire that the Wagner Group fighters receive the only credit for the capture of Ivangrad, is consistent with previous ISW observations that Prigozhin he was fighting for greater prominence against the backdrop of his recent harsh criticisms of the structure of the Russian Defense Ministry (MoD).
