Ukrainian unit has reported defeating a Russian brigade near Bakhmut, underscoring what the Kremlin says is a very difficult operation, Reuters writes.
The Ukrainian statement coincides with what Yevhenii Prigozhin, the owner of the Wagner group, said on Tuesday, the 9th of May, that his fighters have left their positions in Bakhmut, where bloody battles have been going on for months.
The commander of the Ukrainian ground forces, Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrsky, informed that in some places in Bakhmut, Russian units retreated even up to two kilometers from their previous positions, but did not provide further comments. Reuters has not been able to confirm the situation on the battlefield.
Meanwhile, Kremlin representative Dmitry Peskov told the Bosnian Serb TV channel: “The special military operation continues. This is a very difficult operation, and, of course, certain goals have been achieved in a year. We managed to beat up the Ukrainian military machine quite a bit. This work will continue.” Peskov thus referred to the Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian cities. He added that there was no doubt that Bakhmut would be captured and brought under Russian control, and stated that
the Russian campaign in eastern Ukraine is so slow because Russia “is not waging a war”.
The representative of the Kremlin pointed out that the war is a different process, which means complete destruction, but the Russians don’t do it. On the contrary, according to Peskov, they are trying to preserve infrastructure and protect lives.
Peskov’s statements were not affected by the information that the Russian 72nd Motorized Brigade left its positions at the southeastern outskirts of Bakhmut. The announcement of the 3rd Ukrainian assault brigade says: “It’s official. Prigozhin’s report about the flight of Russia’s 72nd Independent Motorized Rifle Brigade from near Bakhmut and the ‘500 corpses’ of Russians left behind is true.”
A Russian brigade usually consists of several thousand soldiers.
A NATO official in Brussels has indicated that the war will increasingly be a battle between poorly trained Russian soldiers with outdated equipment and smaller Ukrainian forces with access to better Western weapons and training. Dutch officer, chairman of the NATO military committee, Rob Bauer, has stated that Russia is starting to use T-54 tanks, which is an old model, created immediately after the Second World War. Meanwhile, Washington has announced the transfer of frozen Russian funds for the needs of Ukraine.
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