2023-05-15 18:55:00
Multiple videos on social media from Bakhmut show intense fighting continuing between high-rise apartment buildings on the western edge of the city.
The videos, filmed from the Ukrainian side and released on Monday, show attacks between buildings in a district where fighters from the Wagner private military company have been trying to gain ground.
Ukrainian military units acknowledge that the situation inside the city is extremely difficult.
The 5th Assault Brigade said on its Facebook page: “Although we are driving the enemy back from the flanks, the situation in the city is on the brink of hell because the enemy is using all means. They are ‘pouring’ fire on all the houses, destroying all of them. So the situation is… Although we have partial successes, the situation is still very difficult.”
Myroshnykov, a Ukrainian military blogger, echoed this assessment: “The city itself is hell. There is nothing left to defend there, but our soldiers do not leave and stand firm.”
The 5th Brigade said that, outside the city, it had made gains once morest Russian forces in recent days and weeks, and had advanced regarding 2.5 kilometers in the past two months, gradually moving the Russian front line away from the Ivanivske village, immediately west of Bakhmut.
“Of course, the fighting is very hard, very fierce and persistent. Every meter of the liberated territory is very difficult to win,” the Brigade said on Facebook. “We have exhausted them, and now we are actively pushing the front line and retaking the territory meter by meter.”
He also said supply routes to the part of Bakhmut still held by Ukrainian forces were more stable. “Now all these roads are under our absolute control, both in terms of fire control and physical control. The supply of the garrison is stable.”
The Brigade noted that “Russian regular troops are not prepared to fight like Wagner… They have no particular desire to fight.”
There have been contrasting accounts from different Ukrainian units of the performance of Russian regular forces around Bakhmut.
The 5th Brigade added that the Russians retained a huge advantage in the amount of artillery they might use.
“Their goal was to destroy and capture Bakhmut at any cost. They are doing everything. So, unfortunately, not only our front line is suffering, but also all the towns and villages.”
Overall, according to multiple accounts and geotagged videos on social media, Wagner’s fighters are still trying to take over the western parts of the city of Bakhmut that they do not yet control, while Ukrainian units to the west and south of the city appear to be succeeding. gradual advances.
a bit of context: Bakhmut is the scene of a months-long assault by Russian forces, including Wagner’s mercenaries, which has driven thousands from their homes and left the area devastated. But despite the massive numbers of troops Russia has dedicated to capturing the city, they have not been able to gain full control, and suffered heavy losses in the area this week.
CNN’s Vasco Cotovio contributed to this article.
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