The Russian army announces the besieging of Ukrainian forces in Bakhmut.. and Kiev denies
The Russian army announced Thursday that it is besieging the Ukrainian forces holed up in the city of Bakhmut, the center of fighting for months in Ukraine, while the Ukrainian army denied this.
But the head of the Russian “Wagner” group, whose fighters are on the front lines in the battle of Bakhmut, said Thursday that it is too early to talk regarding a complete encirclement of the city in eastern Ukraine.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said in its daily report, “The Wagner offensive groups continue their intensive military operations to expel the enemy from the central neighborhoods of Artyomovsk (the name given by the Russians to Bakhmut).”
She added, “The airborne forces support the offensive groups, and prevent the arrival of reserve elements of the Ukrainian army to the city and the possibility of the withdrawal of enemy units” from Bakhmut.
For his part, the head of “Wagner”, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said via “Telegram”: “The Ukrainian army continues to bring in reinforcements and transfer them to the city. There are bloody and difficult battles, so it is too early to talk regarding a complete encirclement of Bakhmut,” but he confirmed that 80% of the city has become under Russian control.
The Ukrainian army denies being surrounded
On Thursday, the Ukrainian army denied in a statement to “Agence France Presse” that its forces were surrounded in Bakhmut, the epicenter of the fighting in eastern Ukraine, rejecting the assurances of the Russian Defense Ministry.
“This does not correspond to reality,” said the military spokesman for the eastern region, Sergei Cherivati, stressing that the Ukrainian army is still able to “deliver supplies, ammunition and medicine” to Bakhmut and “extract” the wounded.
In recent days, Ukrainian forces have suffered losses in the city center of Bakhmut, which was recently visited by many Russian war correspondents. The city had a population of 70,000 before the conflict, but it became devastated following months of fighting.
Because of the length of the battle and the heavy losses incurred by both sides, Bakhmut became a symbol of the struggle between the Russians and the Ukrainians for control of the Donbass region, which was Moscow’s stated goal.
In recent months, Russian forces have advanced north and south of Bakhmut, cutting off many of the Ukrainian supply routes and taking control of its eastern part.
It seems that it has been advancing for days in the city center, which has raised speculation regarding the possible withdrawal of Ukrainian forces. On Monday, the pro-Russian Donetsk region commander, Denis Pushlin, published a video showing him in the center of Bakhmut, in which he said that the city “is being liberated.”
(AFP)
