Important driveway under fire
London: Bachmut almost completely isolated
02/05/2023 10:38 am
In the region around Bakhmut, the Russian troops have repeatedly had minor successes. Now they have cut off the Ukrainians from the main routes into the city, British intelligence reports. The Russian mercenary chief Prigozhin meanwhile speaks of brutal house-to-house fighting.
According to British military experts, the embattled Ukrainian city of Bakhmut has been increasingly encircled by Russian troops. That came from daily intelligence update on the Ukraine war by the Ministry of Defense in London. The Russian armed forces have repeatedly had minor successes in the past week.
Accordingly, the two most important access roads to the city in Donetsk Oblast are now directly threatened by Russian fire, and another road is controlled by Wagner mercenaries. “Although Ukrainian troops have several alternative overland routes for resupply, Bakhmut is increasingly isolated,” the statement said.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Russian mercenary group, also confirms the ongoing fighting for Bakhmut. His mercenaries fought “for every street, every house, every stairwell” against Ukrainian troops who were not retreating, he said.
The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj described the situation at the front as difficult but was confident of victory. “The enemy is always throwing in new forces to break through our defenses. Now it’s very hard in Bakhmut, in Wuhledar and in the direction of Lyman,” Zelenskyi said in his evening speech. However, he is confident that Ukrainian “steadfastness” will ultimately prevail and thwart Russia’s plans for conquest.
The British Ministry of Defense has been publishing daily information on the course of the war since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine at the end of February last year, 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 targeted disinformation campaign.