Fierce fighting is raging for control of the centre of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, Russian and Ukrainian forces say, as both sides claim battlefield successes in the longest-running and bloodiest battle of Moscow’s invasion.
Ukraine said on Monday that Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, which has said it is leading Moscow’s charge for the industrial city, was trying to push forward in Bakhmut, which has been the epicentre of fighting for months.
“Wagner assault units are advancing from several directions, trying to break through our troops’ defensive positions and move to the centre of the city,” the Ukrainian military said in a morning briefing.
“In fierce battles, our defenders are inflicting significant losses on the enemy,” it said.
Russian forces have captured eastern Bakhmut but so far have failed to encircle it.
“All enemy attempts to capture the town are repelled by artillery, tanks and another firepower,” Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, was quoted as saying by its Media Military Centre.
Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin acknowledged that his forces were coming up against determined resistance as they seek to take control of the city centre.
“The situation in Bakhmut is difficult, very difficult. The enemy is battling for every metre,” Prigozhin said in a post on social media.
“The closer we are to the city centre, the more difficult the battles get and the more artillery there is. … Ukrainians are throwing endless reserves [at the fight],” the billionaire said.
Foreign military leaders have said the decimated city has little military value, but Ukraine has said its strategy of defending Bakhmut is to degrade Russia’s ability to launch a further offensive in the coming months and buy time to ready its attempt to recapture ground.
