The situation is “extremely tense” around Bakhmout, a city in eastern Ukraine which the Russians have been seeking to seize since the summer and where they have advanced in recent weeks, the ground forces commander admitted on Tuesday. Ukrainians.
“The situation around Bakhmout is extremely tense,” said Oleksandre Syrsky, quoted by the army’s official press center. “The enemy has sent the best prepared units (of the paramilitary group) Wagner to attack, trying to break through the defense of our troops and encircle the city,” he added.
the situation around Bakhmout is “more and more complicated”, according to President Zelensky
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged Monday evening that the situation of his troops around Bakhmout, in the east of the country, was becoming very difficult. “The situation is getting more and more complicated,” he said in his daily message. “The enemy systematically destroys everything that can be used to protect our positions,” he added, calling the Ukrainian soldiers engaged in this battle “true heroes”.
Since the summer, troops from Moscow have been trying to take the city of Bakhmout, of disputed strategic importance but which has become a symbol of the struggle for control of the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine.
The Russians “within range of arms”
In remarks broadcast Monday by Russian television, the head of the Donetsk region (eastern Ukraine) appointed by Moscow, Denis Pushilin, assured that all the access roads to the fortress city of Bakhmout are “within reach of arms” of the pro-Russian forces.
Russian forces have been trying for several weeks to encircle Bakhmout and have succeeded in cutting off several important supply routes for Ukrainian troops. The boss of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, Evguéni Prigojine, claimed responsibility on Saturday for the capture by his men of the village of Yaguidné, located on the northern outskirts of Bakhmout.