The spokesman for the Ukrainian armed forces in the east of the country, Serhii Cherevaty, assured this Friday that the Russian forces are exhausted and have been “massacred” in the city of Bakhmut in the last hours.
“In the last day alone there were 40 fights, as a result of which 190 occupants died, 244 were injured and 15 others were captured,” Cherevaty told the national television news service.
The spokesman also mentioned the destruction of three Russian tanks and five ammunition depots in the area.
“This indicates that our operation is continuing successfully,” Cherevaty said, adding that the Russian mercenary group Wagner, which led Russian attacks on Bakhmut in the east of the country and the scene of the longest battle in Ukraine, “did not meet any of their deadlines”.
According to the spokesman, who highlighted the low motivation of the Russian troops, Moscow’s campaign in the city is being affected by the replacement of Wagner’s mercenaries by regular Russian army units with little will to fight.
Cherevaty also said that the Ukrainian forces pushed the Russian forces back an estimated distance of between 250 meters and a kilometer and a half.
Hours earlier, Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar had claimed that Ukrainian troops had forced the Russians back in two in the Bakhmut area.
The military offensive launched on February 24, 2022 by Russia in Ukraine has so far caused the flight of more than 14.7 million people -6.5 million internally displaced persons and more than 8.2 million to European countries-, according to the latest data from the UN, which classifies this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since World War II (1939-1945).
At least 18 million Ukrainians need humanitarian aid and 9.3 million need food aid and shelter.
The Russian invasion – justified by Russian President Vladimir Putin as the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security – was condemned by the wider international community, which has responded by sending arms to Ukraine and imposing them on Russia in political and economic sanctions.
The UN presented as confirmed since the beginning of the war, which today entered its day 441, 8,791 dead civilians and 14,815 wounded, stressing that these figures are far below the real ones.
Source: TSF
