Ukrainian forces are continuing tough defensive operations in Bahmut, a strategic eastern strategic point, in the face of a heavy Russian offensive, the UK Ministry of Defense said on Monday.
According to the BBC and AFP news agency, the British Ministry of Defense said in a daily military intelligence briefing that day that Ukrainian forces are fighting fierce battles with Russian regular troops and private mercenary fighters from the Wagner Group, which have entered the northern outskirts of Bahmut with reinforcements to elite units.
The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said on Facebook that Russian forces had launched an unsuccessful siege of Bakhmut, claiming that “our forces had repulsed numerous attacks in and around Bakhmut.”
The battle over Bahmut has been going on for 7 months. The capture of Bahmut by the Russians gives them their first significant achievement in the Winter Offensive.
Ukrainian military expert Oleh Zhdanov said he might not immediately detect any signs that the government of Volodymyr Zelensky would order an immediate withdrawal from Bakhmut.
In a YouTube interview, Zhdanov explained that “the current situation in Bakhmut is somewhat stable,” and that the Ukrainian army has effectively stopped the Russian army’s advance.
The UK Ministry of Defense said two major bridges linking Bahmut had been destroyed in the past 36 hours, saying it was concerned that “this is gradually limiting external supply routes to occupied Ukraine”.
One of these bridges is said to be a key supply route to Chasiu Yar, 13 km west of Bahmut.
The Russian army launched a fierce bombardment of the main supply route in order to establish a siege of Bahmut targeting Sungri within six months.
However, the Ukrainian General Staff confirmed that Russian forces had failed to capture the villages of Vaskivka, Orikhovo Vasilivka, Dubbo Vasilivka and Hrihoryvka, north of the center of Bakhmut.
Russia is launching an all-out offensive, considering Bahmut as a stepping stone to completely occupy the Donbass industrial region, which is the biggest goal of aggression in Ukraine.
President Zelensky referred to Bakhmut as a ‘fortress’ through video footage and thanked and congratulated the Ukrainian military for defending the site.
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