The Ukrainian army and the mercenary Wagner Group report a Russian withdrawal from the Bakhmut as Kyiv makes its biggest advance in six months and prepares for a counter-offensive, Reuters writes.
Ukrainian soldiers stationed near the front line have indicated that the Russians are bombarding the roads to slow down the Ukrainian offensive.
The Ukrainian army reported that in some places the Ukrainians managed to move almost two kilometers forward. Army representative Serhiy Cherevatyi stated: “Despite the fact that our units do not have an advantage in equipment… and personnel,
they have continued to advance on the flanks, and covered a distance of 150 to 1,700 meters.”
Ukraine’s success is compounded by the clearly visible gap between Yevgeny Prigozhin, owner of the private mercenary group Wagner Group, and officials of the Russian regular army and Defense Ministry. Moscow’s only asset in the vaunted “winter offensive” is the ruins of Bakhmut after long battles described by both sides as a meat grinder.
Prigozhin has stated that his mercenaries are still fighting in Bakhmut. At the same time, the Russian regular army has abandoned positions north and south of the city, increasing the risk that fighters in Bakhmut will be encircled. He stated on Thursday, the 18th of May, that
the Russian Defense Ministry’s units retreated 570 meters north of Bakhmut,
thus exposing the Russian lines.
The Russian Defense Ministry has acknowledged the retreat from some positions near Bakhmut but denies Prigozhin’s claims that the flanks are collapsing or that it is deliberately withholding ammunition intended for Wagner’s group.
Deputy Defense Minister of Ukraine, Hanna Maliar, informed that Russia sent reserve forces to Bakhmut, but Ukraine managed to repel them successfully. Ukrainians are currently trying to get time for certain actions, Maliar said.
Kyiv has informed that its aim is to draw the Russians into Bakhmut in order to reduce their ability to resist elsewhere on the front. The commander of the Ukrainian ground forces, Colonel-General Oleksander Syrskyi, said that the Wagnerites had gathered in Bakhmut like rats in a trap.
Read also: Former commander of the Wagner Group has decided to return to Russia