The leader of the self-declared and pro-Russian Donetsk People’s Republic, Denis Pushilin, says that the situation in the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut remains “complicated” and that Ukrainian forces show no sign of leaving.
Pushilin was quoted Thursday by Russian state news agency RIA Novosti as saying that “the situation in Artemivsk [the Russian name for Bakhmut] remains complicated, Kyiv is not going to withdraw its troops.”
Pushilin said that the only road to Bakhmut for Ukrainian forces is “now under even more significant fire control of the Wagner Group. Because of this, it is extremely difficult for the enemy to deliver ammunition, food, and reinforcements.”
Irina Rybakova, a press officer of Ukraine’s 93rd separate mechanized brigade, told Ukrainian television Thursday that “for two weeks now there has been a difficult situation with the roads [into Bakhmut], which complicates logistics.”
“The center of Bakhmut is controlled by the Ukrainian forces. Russian artillery is constantly working on our section of the front,” said Rybakova. “They are now focused on the road.”
Forces from Russia’s Wagner private military group have made very limited gains in the last week in and around Bakhmut.
Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin Wednesday spoke of ammunition shortages and heavy fighting around the city, and claimed that his fighters had taken a very small settlement 8 kilometers (5 miles) northwest of the city.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said that “manpower, artillery, and equipment losses in fights for Bakhmut will likely constrain Wagner’s ability to complete a close encirclement of Bakhmut or gain substantial territory in battles for urban areas.”
“It seems that the Wagner offensive itself will not be sufficient to seize Bakhmut,” added the ISW.
