The commander of the Ukrainian ground forces admitted on Thursday that the situation around the city of Bakhmut is “extremely tense” after several weeks of advances by Russian troops in recent weeks.
“The situation around Bakhmut is extremely tense,” Oleksandre Syrsky told the Ukrainian army’s official press center.
“The enemy sent the best prepared units into the [grupo paramilitar] to attack Wagner. It is trying to bypass our troops’ defenses and surround the city,” he added.
Bakhmut, whose strategic importance is disputed, has become a symbol of the struggle for control of the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine.
In recent weeks, the Russians have been making slow progress in this industrial city, which had a population of about 70,000 before the invasion of Ukraine launched by Moscow a year ago.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted on Monday evening that the situation around Bakhmut was “increasingly complicated” for Ukrainian soldiers.
The Russians managed to cut off several important routes for supplying troops from Kiev.
The owner of the Wagner group, Yevgeni Prigozhin, on Saturday claimed his men’s conquest of the town of Iaguidne, located in northern Bakhmut.
Source: DN
