Ukraine said Friday that its forces have recaptured parts of the territory around the besieged city of Bakhmutdespite Russia’s denials, although President Volodimr Zelensky warned that his army needs more time before launching a counteroffensive.
In the ground, Ukraine said its forces had advanced two kilometers near Bakhmut.scene of the longest and bloodiest battle since the Russian invasion, which began more than a year ago.
The city, which had some 70,000 inhabitants before the conflict, has been gradually destroyed as Russian forces have made advances in recent months to control around 80% of its territory.
“The enemy suffered heavy losses in troops,” said Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister, Ganna Maliar, in a statement on social media. “This week we have not lost a single position in Bakhmut,” she said.
Russia denies any Ukrainian advance in the city, assuring that reports of its territorial losses “do not correspond to reality.”
And this Friday the Russian army even claimed to have repelled 26 Ukrainian attacks over 95 kilometers in the Soledar sector, near Bakhmut.
But the head of the paramilitary group Wagnerin the front line of the Russian attack on Bakhmut, Yevgeny PrigozhinHe said that kyiv has indeed made important progress.
“The enemy has launched several successful counterattacks,” Prigozhin wrote to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on social media, urging him to “independently assess the current situation” by visiting Bakhmut.
Several Russian war correspondents assured on Thursday that the expected counteroffensive of kyiv had started. However, the Ukrainian president said in an interview on the same Thursday that kyiv I needed more time.
“Mentally we are prepared,” Zelensky said. “With what we have we can go ahead and be successful. But we would lose a lot of people. I think that is something unacceptable. So we have to wait,” he said.
The general Oleksandr Syrskyicommander of the Ukrainian land forces and responsible for the defense of Bakhmut, today informed President Zelensky during a meeting of the General Staff that his troops have stopped the Russian forces and pushed them back in some areas of the front.
“We have heard the report of General Syrskyi, whose units have forced the enemy to stop and have even pushed him back in some areas,” Zelensky announced about the content of the meeting on his Telegram channel.
Zelensky’s announcement comes after Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister, Hanna Malyar, reported that Ukrainian troops have driven back 2 kilometers to Russian forces trying to take Bakhmut.
The Ukrainian president also discussed with his military chiefs and with his Defense and Strategic Industries ministers, present at the meeting, the question of the supply of ammunition and missiles that Ukraine needs to face its expected counteroffensive with more guarantees.
Likewise, Zelensky was informed by those responsible for defense and security of how the new brigades that Ukraine has created for its next offensive military campaign are being equipped with weapons and ammunition.
(With information from AFP and EFE)
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Source-www.infobae.com