The Ukrainian defence minister has said that his troops have “advanced 2km towards Bakhmut” and they are also making gains on the frontline.
Hanna Maliar said that the Wagner Group chief has been sending out “false information” over the lack of weapons and ammunition being supplied in an attempt to “justify” the real situation on the ground.
The “real situation” is Russian soldiers do not realise that they have “suffered great losses” amid “their plans.”
She added, “Our defenders advanced 2km in the direction of Bakhmut, we did not lose any position in Bakhmut this week.”
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According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) Russia has be in large abandoned their attempts to encircle the city of Bakhmut which likely happened when Moscow cut off Wagner Group from recruiting from prisons.
Russia has denied that Ukrainian forces have broken through various parts of the frontlines and claim that everything is under control.
In a statement, Russia‘s defence ministry said: “The individual declarations on Telegram about a ‘breakthrough’ on several points on the frontline do not correspond to reality.
“The general situation in the special military operation zone is under control.”
However Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said that near Bakhmut the situation is unfolding in line with the “worst of all expected scenarios.”
The ISW said in a report, “Ukrainian Eastern Group of Forces Commander Colonel General Oleksandr Syrsky stated that Russian forces retreated up to two kilometers behind Russian lines in unspecified sectors of the Bakhmut front.
“Syrsky’s confirmation of Ukrainian gains prompted a response from Prigozhin, who claimed that Ukrainian forces have started the counteroffensive and recaptured three kilometers of ground in and around Bakhmut.”
