Russian forces continued the offensive this Tuesday to break through Ukrainian defenses on the eastern front, but continue to face strong resistance without making significant progress, according to pro-Moscow and Western sources cited by Spain’s EFE agency.
“There is fighting in the southeastern part of Vuhledar. The situation is very difficult, the fighting is fierce, but we are seeing some progress.”Russia’s acting leader in the Donetsk region (in eastern Ukraine), Denis Pushilin, told Russian Public Television.
According to Pushilin, there is also fighting in the western part of Mariinka and “there are opportunities” for the Russians to take up new positions in that part of the Donetsk front. The towns of Vuhledar and Mariinka, located a few kilometers southwest of Donetsk city, have been the scene of violent armed clashes for several months.
Pushilin also alluded to the situation of the city of Bakhmut, whose conquest is one of the main objectives of the Russians, but where at the moment, he said, “there are no signs of a retreat of the enemy”. Bakhmut is one of the strongholds of Ukrainian forces in the Donetsk region and is considered key to Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, the largest cities in the Donetsk region controlled by Kievan forces.
The leader of the private military company of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, stated that the situation in Bakhmut is such that “it cannot be said to be taken tomorrow, because there is great resistance”referring to a “meat shredder”.
“The enemy is active from all directions, adding new and new reserves. Every day 300 to 500 new fighters come to Bakhmut from all directions. The artillery fire is increasing with every day”, said Prigozhin. The leader of the mercenary group added that there is heavy fighting in the north of the city and that there are no conditions in that area to encircle the enemy.
The spokesman for the Eastern Military Group of the Kiev Armed Forces, Serhiy Cherevaty, also confirmed the intensity of the fighting near Bakhmut, saying Ukrainian positions in that area were attacked 243 times by Russian artillery during the day.
In its daily report, British military intelligence notes that Wagner Group forces have made small gains in the northern suburbs of Bakhmut, including the town of Krasna Hora, over the past three days. At the same time, it emphasizes that Ukrainian forces maintain defenses in the area and that the Russian advance south of the city is making little progress.
In the north, in the Lugansk region, on the Kremina-Svatove axis, Russian troops are also on the offensive, although the report emphasizes that any local attack is on a very small scale and without significant progress.
“In general, the current operational landscape suggests that Russian forces are ordered to advance in most sectors, but do not have sufficient offensive combat power to achieve a decisive effect.”summarized the text.
As the first anniversary of the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine approaches on February 24, press reports are piling up that the Russian military could launch another major offensive similar to the start of the campaign. The Russian military offensive on Ukrainian territory, launched on February 24 last year, plunged Europe into what is considered the most serious security crisis since World War II (1939-1945).
The Russian invasion – justified by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russian security – was condemned by the international community at large, which responded by sending arms to Ukraine and to impose on Russia political and economic sanctions.
Source: DN
