Ukraine’s military claims it has contained recent Russian strikes in Bakhmut and other key areas
The Ukrainian military said that Russian forces recently launched unsuccessful attacks once morest its defensive lines in several regions, including around the besieged eastern city of Bakhmut.
Russian strikes have also targeted Kupiansk and Lyman, in the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions, respectively, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said late Saturday.
Bakhmut: Russia has made “several unsuccessful attempts” at a cluster of settlements in the area surrounding Bakhmut, the Ukrainian military said.
Areas that have seen recent fighting include Orikhovo-Vasylivka and Berkhivka to the northwest of Bakhmut, and Ivanivske and Pivnichne to the southwest.
The Ukrainian Army said that “the enemy is still trying to break through the defenses and take Bakhmut” and that the commander of the Eastern Ukraine Military Group, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, visited units defending the city and surrounding villages.
“The Russian occupiers have focused their main efforts on taking Bakhmut and its surroundings. Fighting is taking place around the city and on its outskirts,” the Ukrainian Ground Forces said on Telegram.
The post included footage of Syrskyi’s visit.
The Russian state news agency RIA Novosti published a report showing a Russian soldier walking on the outskirts of Bakhmut. In the video, he said: “The enemy is holding but their morale is low and they occasionally start to withdraw. We have 1,740 meters (regarding a mile) left to reach front line positions in central Bakhmut. The enemy is holding defense, but he’s exhausted.”
CNN cannot verify the soldier’s claims regarding troop positioning.
Wagner’s claim: The head of Russia’s Wagner private military company, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said in a Telegram audio message that his fighters seized control of the village of Yahidne, a northern suburb of Bakhmut, on Saturday night.
CNN might not immediately verify Prigozhin’s claim.
In other parts of eastern Ukraine: The Ukrainian General Staff said Russian forces also attacked defensive lines near Avdiivka, north of the city of Donetsk, and Mariinka, to the southwest.
The military gave no indication that the Moscow troops had advanced.
Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of the Donetsk region’s military administration, said on Telegram that Avdiivka was under heavy enemy fire.
He said that in less than 24 hours, “the Russians shelled the city twice with artillery, once with tanks, launched an attack with anti-aircraft missiles, and also attacked with Grads (rockets).”
A recently renovated school in the city was destroyed by an airstrike, Kyrylenko said.
CNN’s Maria Knight in Atlanta
