The Russian Defense Ministry reported that two high-ranking military officers were killed in the fighting in Eastern Ukraine, writes Politico.
Moscow officials reported on Sunday, May 14, that after repelling the Ukrainian attacks around Bakhmut, they admitted that the losses affected their own units. The statement of the ministry said that the commander of the 4th motorized brigade, Vyacheslav Makarov, was injured during the attack, and he died from his injuries during the evacuation. The deputy commander of the army unit, colonel Yevgenii Brovko, also fell.
During a meeting with European politicians in Berlin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said on the morning of the 14th of May that his forces were preparing for a strong counterattack. He also denied that the Ukrainian army would carry out attacks on Russian troops on its territory, saying that the Ukrainians have neither the time nor the resources to do so. The president said:
“We are preparing a counterattack for the illegally occupied areas based on our constitutionally-defined legitimate borders,
which are recognized internationally.”
Ukraine has reported territorial gains around Bakhmut, the site of some of the fiercest fighting in recent months. The city has also become the object of heated disputes between the owner of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, and the Kremlin. Prigozhin regularly accuses the Defense Ministry of deliberately withholding ammunition and has also said that the generals are misleading Russian President Vladimir Putin about the situation at the front.
While the Russian government claims that the movement of units around Bakhmut is merely a regrouping and a strategic change of position, an exasperated Prigozhin has stated that it is called a retreat, not a regrouping.
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