WESTERN PERSPECTIVE
Kyiv denies Wagner Bakhmut claim, Russia says forces advancing
Ukraine and Russia traded barbs on Wednesday over how much Kremlin's forces control the city of Bakhmut, for months the focal point of Moscow's bid to advance through eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine's military said it controlled "considerably" more than 20% of the city. The claim by Russian entrepreneur Yevgeny Prigozhin that his Wagner mercenary group had seized more than 80% of Bakhmut was untrue, it said.
Russia's Defence Ministry retorted that Wagner forces had captured three city blocks. And Russian forces, it said, had struck Ukrainian army reserves trying to break through.
After pulling back from an attempted advance on Kyiv last year in what Moscow calls a "special military operation", Russia's military has focused mainly on capturing Bakhmut as a stepping stone to advancing on cities further west in Donetsk region.
But its gains have been largely incremental over many months. Prigozhin has made a number of premature announcements in connection with Wagner's position in Bakhmut.
Serhiy Cherevatyi, spokesperson for Ukraine's eastern military command, dismissed Prigozhin's latest 80% claim in a comment to Reuters.
"I was just in touch with the commander of one of the brigades holding the defence of the city. And I can confidently say that Ukrainian defensive forces control a considerably larger percent of Bakhmut's territory," he said.
Analyst Konrad Muzyka, director of the Rochan military consultancy in Poland, said his calculations bore out the Russian claim of 80%. "The big question is whether the current Russian tempo can be maintained," he said on Twitter.
Ukrainian forces have hung on for months in Bakhmut, where the fiercest fighting of Moscow's full-scale February 2022 invasion has killed thousands of soldiers and been dubbed the "meat-grinder".
Prigozhin said on Tuesday his forces controlled most of Bakhmut, including the administrative centre, factories, warehouses and municipal buildings.
"Prigozhin needs to show at least some kind of victory in the city, which they have been trying to capture for nine months in a row and that's why he's making such statements," said Cherevatyi.
REPELLING RUSSIAN ATTACKS
The general staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said there was no letup in Russian attempts to seize the city, with Ukrainian troops repelling nearly 18 attacks. Russian forces, it said, had tried unsuccessfully to move on two villages to the northwest.
The general staff report said Ukrainian forces also beat back 14 attacks on the hotly contested town of Maryinka further south, near the major coke-producing city of Avdiivka.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy praised the efforts of forces defending Bakhmut and other areas in the east, but made no specific reference to the situation in the town.
Addressing a meeting of international financial institutions pledged to maintain Ukraine's financial stability, Zelenskiy called for faster assistance with a view to rebuilding the country and restoring normal life after the Russian invasion.
"There will be no ruins in Ukraine," he said in his nightly video address after the meeting. "That is our aim. It will be concrete proof of the complete defeat of the terrorist state."
In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said approval of a law introducing electronic draft papers for the first time would help resolve a "mess" that ensued after a call-up of 300,000 conscripts last year to bolster its forces.
"That is exactly the purpose of this legislative initiative: to clear up this mess and to make it (the system) modern, effective and convenient for citizens."
RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE
Ukrainians question why they are fighting in Donbass town – Bild
Many Ukrainian soldiers are not convinced the town of Artyomovsk – which they call Bakhmut – is worth clinging to, as Russian forces are advancing street by street, the German outlet Bild reported on Wednesday.
“Bakhmut is hell,” wrote freelance journalist Jan Humin, who visited the town last week and wrote about one 28-year-old soldier who was badly injured. The armored ambulance refused to start, so the soldier from western Ukraine had to be evacuated by a jeep on a dirt road, dodging Russian artillery fire.
“The positive energy that surprises you everywhere in Ukraine, even when things are going badly, cannot be felt in Bakhmut,” Humin added. “Few soldiers feel like talking; while the sound of constant impacts is heard, they sit still and wait for what is to come.”
The Russians are “slowly but surely winning” the seven-month battle for the town, with only two roads still connecting the “almost surrounded” Artyomovsk to the Ukrainian rear, according to Humin. The Russians are advancing street by street and “it seems only a matter of time” before they capture the town completely.
“The mood among the military is tense, focused, and worried. Many wonder what they are fighting for in Bakhmut. Is it really still worth defending this devastated city against the repeated attacks of the Russian armed forces,” the Bild correspondent added.
Russia’s interest in taking Artyomovsk is a matter of public record. The town is the linchpin of the Ukrainian army’s entire position in the Donbass, and taking it would allow further advance deep into Ukrainian-held territory, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said last month. Up the road from Artyomovsk lies Slavyansk, where the Donetsk People’s Republic rebellion against the US-backed coup government in Kiev began in 2014.
The Wagner Group private military company has taken point in the storming of Artyomovsk, enveloping the town to the north and the south while also fighting street by street, building by building, to take the urban area. On April 2, Wagner fighters captured the city administration building. Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin has claimed the fighting in Artyomovsk has “almost destroyed the Ukrainian army.”
The fighting has continued, however, as the government in Kiev has continued to funnel men, ammunition and supplies into the shrinking salient. President Vladimir Zelensky has vowed to hold the town at all cost, even as his Western backers have warned that such efforts were depleting the forces intended for Ukraine’s “great spring counteroffensive.”
** Wagner assault teams capture three urban areas in Artyomovsk
The assault teams of the Wagner private military company captured three urban quarters in Artyomovsk in the Donetsk area over the past day during the special military operation in Ukraine, Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov reported on Wednesday.
"In the Donetsk direction, Wagner assault teams captured three urban quarters in the area of Artyomovsk. Airborne Force units immobilized enemy forces on the flanks of the assault teams," the spokesman said.
Operational/tactical aircraft, missile troops and artillery of the Russian battlegroup South struck enemy reserves, which attempted to break through to Artyomovsk from the settlements of Chasov Yar and Bogdanovka, and also units of the Ukrainian army’s 28th mechanized brigade near the settlement of Konstantinovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, the general specified.
Russian forces destroy over 30 Ukrainian troops in Kupyansk area
Russian forces destroyed over 30 Ukrainian troops in the Kupyansk area over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"In the Kupyansk direction, aircraft and artillery of the western battlegroup struck the Ukrainian army units in areas near the settlements of Pershotravnevoye and Berestovoye in the Kharkov Region and Stelmakhovka in the Lugansk People’s Republic," the spokesman said.
Russian forces "destroyed over 30 Ukrainian personnel, two motor vehicles, and also a Polish-made Krab self-propelled artillery gun and a US-manufactured Paladin motorized artillery system," the general specified.
In addition, "in the areas of the settlements of Sinkovka and Kislovka in the Kharkov Region, three Ukrainian subversive/reconnaissance groups were neutralized," Konashenkov reported.
Russian forces eliminate over 80 Ukrainian troops in Krasny Liman area
Russian forces eliminated over 80 Ukrainian troops in the Krasny Liman area over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"In the Krasny Liman direction, assault aircraft and artillery of the battlegroup Center struck the Ukrainian army units in areas near the settlements of Chervonopopovka, Nevskoye and Chervonaya Dibrova in the Lugansk People’s Republic, Grigorovka and Terny in the Donetsk People’s Republic," the spokesman said.
"Over 80 Ukrainian personnel, four armored combat vehicles, three motor vehicles and a D-20 howitzer" were destroyed in that area in the past 24 hours, the general specified.
Russian forces destroy over 245 Ukrainian troops in Donetsk advance
Russian forces destroyed over 245 Ukrainian troops in their advance in the Donetsk area over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"The enemy’s losses amounted to over 245 Ukrainian personnel, a tank, an armored personnel carrier, two armored combat vehicles, three pickup trucks, eight motor vehicles, a Msta-B howitzer, two D-20 howitzers, and also three Grad multiple rocket launchers," the spokesman said.
During the last 24-hour period, Russian combat aircraft flew eight sorties in that area while missile troops and artillery accomplished 52 firing objectives, he said.
Russian forces destroy 180 Ukrainian troops in southern Donetsk, Zaporozhye areas
Russian forces destroyed roughly 180 Ukrainian troops in the southern Donetsk and Zaporozhye areas over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"In the southern Donetsk and Zaporozhye directions, aircraft and artillery of the battlegroup East inflicted damage on the Ukrainian army units in areas near the settlements of Ugledar in the Donetsk People’s Republic, Gulyaipole and Orekhov in the Zaporozhye Region," the spokesman said.
In the areas of the settlements of Pavlovka and Novosyolka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, Russian forces neutralized two enemy subversive/reconnaissance groups, the general said.
"As many as 180 Ukrainian personnel, 11 motor vehicles and a D-30 howitzer" were destroyed in those areas in the past 24 hours, Konashenkov reported.
Russian forces destroy 50 Ukrainian troops in Kherson area
Russian forces destroyed roughly 50 Ukrainian troops and a military equipment depot of the Ukrainian army in the Kherson area over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"In the Kherson direction, as many as 50 Ukrainian personnel, three armored combat vehicles and six motor vehicles were destroyed in the past 24 hours as a result of damage inflicted by firepower," the spokesman said.
In addition, in the area of the settlement of Otradokamenka in the Kherson Region, a military equipment depot of the Ukrainian army’s 121st territorial defense brigade was obliterated, the general added.
Russia’s Aerospace Forces down Ukrainian Su-24 frontline bomber in DPR
Russian combat aircraft shot down a Ukrainian Su-24 frontline bomber in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"Fighter aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces shot down a Ukrainian Air Force Su-24 plane in the area of the settlement of Krasny Liman in the Donetsk People’s Republic," the spokesman said.
Russian forces strike 94 Ukrainian artillery units in past day
Russian forces struck 94 Ukrainian artillery units at firing positions over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"During the last 24-hour period, operational/tactical aircraft, missile troops and artillery of the Russian group of forces struck 94 Ukrainian artillery units at firing positions, manpower and equipment in 117 areas," the spokesman said.
Russian air defenses intercept two US-made HIMARS rockets
Russian air defense forces intercepted two rockets of the US-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket system and destroyed five Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"In the past 24 hours, air defense capabilities intercepted two rockets of the HIMARS multiple launch rocket system. In addition, they destroyed five Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles in areas near the settlements of Novokrasnyanka, Naugolnoye, Kremennaya and Chervonopopovka in the Lugansk People’s Republic and Yelenovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic," the spokesman said.
In all, the Russian Armed Forces have destroyed 407 Ukrainian warplanes, 228 helicopters, 3,741 unmanned aerial vehicles, 415 surface-to-air missile systems, 8,647 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 1,082 multiple rocket launchers, 4,570 field artillery guns and mortars and 9,483 special military motor vehicles since the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine, Konashenkov reported.
Reuters/RT/TASS
