THE small city of Bakhmut, as we all know, has seen one of the bloodiest and most intense fightings between Russian and Ukrainian forces, and now, Moscow is claiming that its troops had advanced in the besieged city and is now battling to gain the very last area that Ukraine forces are apparently clinging on to.
The defense ministry of Russia said that its forces had advanced in Bakhmut, and are fighting in the western parts of the city, the last part that is still being held by Ukrainian forces.
Telegram posts by Ukrainian Colonel General Oleksandr Syrski posted images with his forces saying that they were holding the frontline that runs through Bakhmut.
“We hit the enemy, often unexpectedly for him, and continue to hold strategic lines,” Oleksandr Syrskiy, Commander of Ukraine’s ground forces.
The Ukrainian defense ministry also posted a video of the war-torn city with the caption ‘Bakhmut holds’
The Russian defense ministry, on Sunday, said that its forces had secured two blocks in western districts, and its airborn units were giving reinforcements to the north and south.
Since the start of Russia’s so-called military operation, its forces continued to try completely seize Bakhmut City, with Wagner, led by its chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin, leading the operations.
Russia believes Bakhmut to be a strategic Ukrainian stronghold, a transport and logistic hub in Ukraine’s Donetsk Region, which is part of the largely Russia-speaking Donbas Region.
To recall, in early April, Wagner’s Prigozhin declared the formal capture of Bakhmut, and on Thursday, Prigozhin claimed that his troops had captured 80 percent of the city.
Russia believes the capture of Bakhmut will open up the possibility of future offensives across Kyiv.
Meanwhile, Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-installed chief of the Kherson Region, said that Ukrainian forces had not taken up positions on the eastern bank of Dnipro River.
Saldo said there is no Ukrainian foothold in the said area and that their military completely controls the eastern bank of the Dnipro River.
