Ukraine and Russia claimed on Saturday that hundreds of enemy soldiers had been killed in the past 24 hours in the fight to Bakhmutwith Kyiv fending off relentless attacks and a small river running through the city in two, now marking the new front line.
Serhiy Cherevatyi, a Ukrainian military spokesman, said 221 pro-Moscow soldiers were killed and more than 300 injured in Bakhmut. The Russian Defense Ministry said up to 210 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in the extended part of the Donetsk frontline.
Although Moscow did not specify Bakhmut’s casualties, the now nearly deserted eastern city of Donetsk was the scene of one of the bloodiest and longest battles of the year-long war.
Both sides have admitted to having suffered and inflicted significant casualties in Bakhmut, while the exact number of casualties is difficult to independently verify.
British military intelligence said on Saturday that the Russian mercenary group Wagner had taken control of most of eastern Bakhmut – a move the group’s founder Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed on Wednesday.
“In the city centre, the Bakhmutka River now marks the front line,” Britain’s Ministry of Defense said in its daily intelligence bulletin.
Ukraine insisted it was holding its own against Bakhmut and giving a “decent rebuff” to Russian forces, with the commander in charge of defending Bakhmut saying his protection was key to a Ukrainian counterattack.
“We have to gain time to accumulate reserves and launch a counter-offensive, which is not far off,” said the lieutenant general. Oleksandr Syrsky as said on Saturday.
Moscow says capturing Bakhmut would punch a hole in Ukrainian defenses and be a step towards seizing the entire Donbass industrial region, a major target. kyiv says the battle crushes the best Russian units.
Prigozhin said on Saturday he was now 1.2 km (0.75 miles) from the city’s administrative center. The center is on the west side of the Bakhmutka River.
British intelligence said that with the river running through open terrain, “this area has become a killing zone, which probably makes it very difficult for Wagner’s forces trying to continue their frontal assault to the west. “.
But the situation remained dangerous for the Ukrainian forces.
“The Ukrainian force and its supply lines in the west remain vulnerable to continued Russian attempts to outflank defenders in the north and south,” he said.
Serhiy Cherevatyi, a Ukrainian military spokesman, said 221 pro-Moscow soldiers were killed and more than 300 injured in Bakhmut. The Russian Defense Ministry said up to 210 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in the extended part of the Donetsk frontline.
Although Moscow did not specify Bakhmut’s casualties, the now nearly deserted eastern city of Donetsk was the scene of one of the bloodiest and longest battles of the year-long war.
Both sides have admitted to having suffered and inflicted significant casualties in Bakhmut, while the exact number of casualties is difficult to independently verify.
British military intelligence said on Saturday that the Russian mercenary group Wagner had taken control of most of eastern Bakhmut – a move the group’s founder Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed on Wednesday.
“In the city centre, the Bakhmutka River now marks the front line,” Britain’s Ministry of Defense said in its daily intelligence bulletin.
Ukraine insisted it was holding its own against Bakhmut and giving a “decent rebuff” to Russian forces, with the commander in charge of defending Bakhmut saying his protection was key to a Ukrainian counterattack.
“We have to gain time to accumulate reserves and launch a counter-offensive, which is not far off,” said the lieutenant general. Oleksandr Syrsky as said on Saturday.
Moscow says capturing Bakhmut would punch a hole in Ukrainian defenses and be a step towards seizing the entire Donbass industrial region, a major target. kyiv says the battle crushes the best Russian units.
Prigozhin said on Saturday he was now 1.2 km (0.75 miles) from the city’s administrative center. The center is on the west side of the Bakhmutka River.
British intelligence said that with the river running through open terrain, “this area has become a killing zone, which probably makes it very difficult for Wagner’s forces trying to continue their frontal assault to the west. “.
But the situation remained dangerous for the Ukrainian forces.
“The Ukrainian force and its supply lines in the west remain vulnerable to continued Russian attempts to outflank defenders in the north and south,” he said.
