Ukraine Drives 'Trapped' Russians from Bakhmut

                                                      

According to a senior Defence Ministry official, Ukraine's counterattacking forces are attempting to use their momentum to trap Russian soldiers in the destroyed eastern city of Bakhmut. Battles that are "significant" are currently taking place on the settlement's northern side.

On her Telegram channel on Wednesday, Hanna Maliar—Kyiv's deputy defence minister and a well-known source of updates on the country's ongoing counterattack—said that "fierce" fighting is still going on in the area of Bakhmut, which for almost a year has been the focal point of both Russian and Ukrainian offensive operations.

Maliar claimed that the Russian command is now utilising "blocking units" stationed immediately behind the front as "our defence forces are hitting the enemy in the east so powerfully that in some areas their military units have begun to leave their positions forming lines to stop their friends from fleeing.They are attempting to keep the troops stable by firing at their backs, according to Maliar.

According to Maliar, the "hottest" areas of the eastern front are located around the Donetsk cities of Lyman and Bakhmut. "Hard combat in the direction of Bakhmut. The opposition is tenaciously clinging to its positions.

While giving up the city's centre to advancing Russian forces after months of bloody battle, Ukrainian forces have been steadily making progress on the city's southern and northern flanks for more than a month. Both sides of the city are still seeing Ukrainian operations, according to Maliar, who also noted that "the situation can change every hour."

"Today is just one of those days; the circumstances were constantly shifting. As a result, there were fights on the northern flank near Bakhmut at day's end with little progress made. There are also spots on the northern flank.

Because of our fighters, the enemy is now confined to the city itself, Maliar continued. He is unable to completely move and is unable to leave the city.

Progress was also highlighted by Serhiy Cherevaty, a spokesman for the Ukrainian military in the east. As reported by Ukrinform, he claimed that Kyiv's soldiers "continue to hold the initiative, carry out assault activities, and push the enemy back on the southern and northern flanks. The adversary is tenaciously resisting.