The eastern Ukrainian city is still the focus of the fighting. Now Russia is reacting to the Ukrainians’ tactical gains in territory – and is moving more troops.
In the battle for the town of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, Russia has increased its troops in the area, according to British intelligence. “In the past four days, Russia has very likely deployed several battalions to reinforce the Bakhmut front,” the Defense Ministry said in London on Saturday.
This was a reaction to tactical gains by the Ukrainian defenders on the flanks of the embattled city and to public threats by the Wagner group of mercenaries to stop fighting there, it said.
Presumably only a few Russian units are available in Ukraine. Therefore, the transfer to the Bakhmut area represents a remarkable commitment by the Russian command, the British ministry emphasized. “The Russian leadership is likely to continue to regard the capture of Bakhmut as the most important immediate war objective that would allow them to achieve some degree of success in the conflict.”
The Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maljar had previously stated that the Russian military had transferred several thousand soldiers to Bakhmut as reinforcements. “The enemy can’t win with quality so they try with quantity,” she wrote on Facebook.
The British Ministry of Defense has published daily information on the course of the war since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, citing intelligence information. In doing so, the British government wants to both counter the Russian portrayal and keep allies in line. Moscow accuses London of a disinformation campaign.
Source: Stern
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