Pictured: Missile explosions are seen in the sky above the city during a Russian missile strike, amid Russian attacks on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine May 16, 2023. (REUTERS/GLEB GARNICH)
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Ukraine said its troops north and south of the town of Bakhmut had advanced to trap Russian troops on Monday (22/5/2023). This strategy emerged after the Russians claimed to have captured the destroyed city.
Russia had declared that they had finally managed to seize the last few blocks of Bakhmut on Saturday (20/5/2023). This gave Moscow its first chance to declare a major victory in more than 10 months.
“Through our movements on the flanks – to the north and south – we succeeded in crushing the enemy,” Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said on Monday in televised comments, citing Reuters.
“By moving along the flanks and occupying certain heights there, our armed forces have made it difficult for the enemy to remain in the city itself.”
Ukrainian troops were still advancing, especially south of Bakhmut, Maliar said, although he said the intensity of the fighting on the northern flank had died down for now. However the situation on site could not be independently verified.
Maliar also said Ukraine still held a foothold within the city itself, although independent monitors said the remaining Ukrainian presence there was unlikely to be substantial.
“Wagner Group mercenaries are most likely securing the western administrative borders of Bakhmut City while Ukrainian troops continue to prioritize counterattacks on the outskirts of Bakhmut,” the Institute for the Study of War think tank said Monday.
Meanwhile, Moscow said seizing Bakhmut now paved the way for further advances in eastern Ukraine.
On the other hand, Ukraine said its advance on the Russian flanks meant more than its withdrawal inside the city, and that Russian reinforcements sent to hold Bakhmut would weaken Moscow’s lines elsewhere.
Moscow’s defense ministry had previously acknowledged some Russian troops withdrew outside Bakhmut last week, but disputed repeated statements by Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin that the flanks had collapsed or the military had withheld ammunition from Wagner.
Moscow has consistently portrayed Bakhmut as a vital strategic goal to secure control of Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region which it claims was annexed last year.
Kyiv meanwhile described the city as a “rattrap” for Russian troops because of the opportunity the battle provided to destroy the invading force in large numbers.
(dce)
2023-05-22 15:00:00
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