The strategically important city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine remains fiercely contested. The mercenary group Wagner must use the best fighters to conquer the metropolis. However, so far Ukrainian troops have been able to repel the attackers. Kiev announced on Wednesday that snipers shot dead a group of Russian scouts who tried to penetrate Ukrainian positions.
Bachmut used to have 70,000 inhabitants, currently only a few thousand citizens live in the city. There is a threat of encirclement by Russian troops. The most qualified fighters of the Wagner group should be used for this. According to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the situation is becoming increasingly difficult – Russia is following a “tactic of exhaustion and complete destruction”.
Kiev: “The losses of the enemy are very high”
Holding the city is not a political but a strategic decision, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maljar said. Reinforcements had been sent. “The casualty rate of the enemy is very high. Our fighters can destroy up to 80 percent of terrorists,” said the minister.
Now Kiev could report at least one minor success: snipers managed to shoot at Russian scouts. Seven enemy soldiers were killed and three wounded. The information could not be independently verified.
Russians would advance in the north
The Ukrainian military leadership had previously described the situation around Bakhmut as extremely tense. As a result, there is increasing speculation that Ukrainian troops will withdraw. Ukrainian military bloggers reported Russian advances north and northwest of the city. Bachmut has been contested since late summer.
According to Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov, Russian forces have made progress in encircling Bakhmut. The troops drove a wedge between the villages of Jahidne and Berchiwka. “This breach on Bahmut’s northern flank poses a clear threat to us,” Zhdanov wrote on social media. “The most difficult situation is still Bakhmut,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday evening.
Source: Krone
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