The situation in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut remains tense. According to reports, the Ukrainian armed forces have made a significant breakthrough – Moscow denies this.
The Russian Defense Ministry has denied reports of a breakthrough by Ukrainian troops near the heavily contested town of Bakhmut.
“The statements that individual Telegram channels spread about ‘breakthroughs in the defense lines’ in several places do not correspond to reality,” the ministry said on Telegram at night. Previously, several Russian war reporters and military bloggers had reported on successful attacks by Ukrainian troops near Bakhmut and speculated on the start of Kiev’s long-awaited counter-offensive.
According to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, there are minor gains in terrain. “Our defenders advanced two kilometers in the Bakhmut sector,” Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maljar wrote on Telegram. In the city itself, no positions had been abandoned during the week and the Russian enemy had suffered heavy losses.
The Russian military leadership emphasized: “The overall situation in the area of the special operations is under control”. Regarding Bakhmut, the Ministry of Defense only spoke of the “continuation of the liberation of the western part of Artemovsk (Soviet name of the city) with the support of the air force and artillery”. There were no details from Moscow.
However, the head of the Wagner mercenary group fighting in Bakhmut, Yevgeny Prigoshin, has been complaining for some time about increasing problems due to a lack of ammunition and support. According to him, his troops are threatened with encirclement in Bakhmut due to the recent successes of the Ukrainians on the flanks. The well-known Moscow war correspondent Yevgeny Poddubny confirmed this assessment on state television.
Wagner boss invites Russia’s defense minister to Bachmut
Meanwhile, Prigozhin has invited Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to Bakhmut for an assessment of the situation. “In view of the difficult operational situation and your many years of combat experience, I ask you to come to Bakhmut, which is under the control of Russian military units, and assess the situation independently,” Prigozhin wrote in an open letter to the minister, which he sent to the telegram. channel of his press service published.
The relationship between Prigozhin and Shoigu is considered tense. The invitation can be understood as mockery – especially the insertion with the “many years of combat experience”. Shoigu, although he has the title of army general, never served in the armed forces, something that Russian military bloggers have repeatedly criticized.
Source: Stern
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