Ukrainian forces fire on a tank next to a field of devastated sunflowers on the Bakhmut front SERHII NUZHNENKO | Reuters
kyiv troops are surrounded from the east, north and south
10 mar 2023 . Updated at 8:51 p.m.
Russian troops increase the pace of their offensive operation in the northwest of Bajmuthaving gained control of the eastern part of the city, while Ukrainian forces reinforce their positions in the west to defend logistical lines vital to their survival on the battlefield.
Russia wants to take over the entire city, where fewer than 4,000 inhabitants remain, before Ukraine launch su counteroffensive in springwhich can start in two months if kyiv receives more ammunition and missiles in time far-reaching in the West, according to what the adviser to the Presidency Mykhailo Podolyak told the daily The print and pick up Efe.
Ukrainian troops are surrounded from the east, north and south, although the mercenaries of the Wagner Group have not yet reached the center of Bakhmutka, for which they would have to cross the Bakhmutka River from the eastern part. Russia considers this direction of the front controlled since the 8th, something that the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) confirmed based on geolocated images.
The newspaper Ukrainska Pravda reported this Friday that military sources confirmed the withdrawal a few days ago of the Ukrainian Army from the eastern part of the river.
The ISW maintains that currently Wagner’s offensive operation in eastern Bakhmut appears to have entered a temporary tactical pauseas the fighters have been conducting highly draining frontal assaults for nine months and are probably not ready to cross the river.
According to what the spokesman for the Eastern Group of the Armed Forces, Serhiy Cherevaty, said on Ukrainian television, the defense of Bakhmut has a military aspect – to wear down the Russians – and a moral one, because the second Army in the world cannot take the center.
Wagner’s situation
Despite the gradual advances, the mercenaries of the businessman Yevgueni Prigozhin, faced with the political and military leadership of the Russian Ministry of Defense, recognize problems in Bakhmut, especially in terms of the ammunition supply.
Wagner’s boss claimed that in Russia they have blocked his communications and passes before the decision-making bodies so that he does not ask for ammunition, in the midst of reports that Moscow is sending more troops conventional to the city to reduce the role of the mercenaries, the spearhead of the Russian attacks on Bakhmut.
In the absence of a move to try to reach the center, the mercenaries will focus on the northwest of Bajmut. Prigozhin claimed on Thursday that they captured Dubovo-Vasylivka, six kilometers northwest of Bakhmut, although the Ministry of Defense of Russia It has not yet confirmed it and the General Staff of Ukraine assured in its morning war report this Friday that the forces repelled Russian attacks in this village. The probable capture of Dubovo-Vasylivka corresponds with the potentially increased pace of Russian offensive operations northwest of Bakhmut in recent days, the ISW noted.
The General Staff of Ukraine maintained the day before that the Russian forces carried out at least 30% of your attacks in the northwestwhich has created a new threat for the Ukrainian troops, since from there they can attack through Bohdanivka the neighboring Chasiv Yar, more to the southwest, strategic for the defense of Bajmut.
This city, a few kilometers west of Bakhmut, serves Ukrainian soldiers not only to rest and regroup, but also to supply the troops at the frontand is therefore the starting point of important logistics and communication lines.
The Wagner Group opens 42 recruitment centers in Russia to reinforce the front
The Wagner Group runs out of mercenaries as the war in Ukraine drags on. To continue on the front line, its owner, the businessman Yevgeny Prigozhinhas announced the opening of recruitment centers in 42 cities of Russia. New fighters will arrive and join us to defend their country and their families., indicated The scarcity in his ranks has become apparent in what Prigozhin has called a colossal resistance by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. We will continue to move forward. Despite the sticks in the wheels that put us at every step, we will get through this togetherhe stressed, according to the Colpisa agency.
In the list of venues, most seem to be located in gyms and martial arts clubs. The long history of great competitors of Russian origin in these sports areas has led several aspirants to attend the grassroots circuits, which is why they have become targets of Wagner’s campaign. This situation has been unleashed after the veto imposed on the group to recruit in prisons.