Ukrainian troops are fighting to defend the eastern city of Bakhmut from Russian troops, military experts say. Ukraine is reinforcing its troops in the region with elite units, but the Russian army and fighters from the Wagner mercenary group have pushed further into the northern suburbs of Bakhmut, the British Ministry of Defense reports.
There is heavy fighting in and around the city. Two key bridges in Bakhmut had been destroyed in the past 36 hours and the supply routes of Ukrainian troops were increasingly restricted. On Friday, Russian artillery fired on the last arterial roads of Bakhmut to completely encircle the town that had been fighting for months. A few thousand civilians are still holding out in the city, where some 70,000 people lived before the war.
Some units are already withdrawing
The situation was “a slaughterhouse on both sides,” the commander of a Ukrainian unit had previously told internet channel Espresso TV. Parts of some units have been instructed to move to safe positions. The leader of a Ukrainian drone unit said in a video that his unit had been ordered to withdraw immediately.
Kiev had previously admitted that the attackers were trying to encircle the city. The head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigoshin, spoke of an almost complete encirclement. A single road to the west would still be open to the Ukrainians. A Wagner militant told the Russian news agency Ria Novosti that Ukrainian troops had already blown up almost all bridges across the Bakhmutska River.
Shoigu visits troops
Meanwhile, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made an official visit to combat troops in Ukraine. The Ministry of Defense in Moscow announced that Shoigu had inspected an upstream command post in the southern Donetsk region. In a video released by the ministry, Shoigu can be seen presenting medals to soldiers and touring a devastated city with Eastern Military District commander Rustam Muradov.
Shoigu has rarely visited Russian troops in Ukraine. In Russia, he was sharply criticized by commentators and war lawyers for the conduct of the war, which did not result in a quick victory but instead brought a number of serious setbacks, including from Wagner boss Prigozhin.
Source: Krone
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