Russian troops on Wednesday claimed advances in Bakhmout, the epicenter of the conflict in eastern Ukraine where fighting is taking place in parts of the city, according to a Russian occupation official.
“Pretty harsh hostilities are continuing in (Bakhmout) (…) Fighting is already taking place somewhere on the outskirts, and somewhere in those neighborhoods that were still held by the enemy quite recently,” said Denis Pushilin, leader of the Russian occupation in the Donetsk region, quoted by Russian news agencies.
According to him, Russian troops, and in particular mercenaries from the paramilitary group Wagner, are “advancing”.
Bakhmout, which had 70,000 inhabitants before the conflict, has been subjected to repeated attacks by Russian troops since the summer, without the latter having so far succeeded in breaking the Ukrainian defenses.
The city, largely destroyed and whose strategic importance is disputed by experts, has become in recent months the site of heavy losses on both sides.
According to Mr Pushilin, the breakthrough claimed by Russia earlier in January at Soledar, located further north, “played a key role” in the current advances in Bakhmout.
The capture of this city “made it possible to block the supply routes of the enemy and, in part, to take under operational control areas” from which the Ukrainians struck Russian positions, he continued.
The leader of the Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, informed him on Tuesday evening via his press service that “the purpose of taking Bakhmout is to destroy the Ukrainian army in the vicinity of the city and to prevent any offensive action in all directions”.
“All combat-ready units of the Ukrainian armed forces are sent to Bakhmout and the Wagner group destroys them, opening up operational opportunities in other directions” of the front, he said.
The Ukrainian general staff confirmed in its daily report on Wednesday Russian assaults in Bakhmout and its region.
According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a US-based think tank, “Russian forces have made marginal territorial gains in Bakhmout.” He also noted reports of an ongoing Russian offensive in Vougledar, further south.