The Russians are pushed further and further back at Bachmoet. Moscow has now openly admitted this for the first time. Some Russian units north of the hard-fought front city are retreating, while Ukraine claims the recapture of areas in the south. “They are mentally prepared for defeat.”
LOOK. Ukraine released images of fleeing Russian troops near Bachmut
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says his soldiers have reclaimed territory near Bachmut in eastern Ukraine. The “overwhelming efforts” of Ukrainian troops led to the Russians being halted or even “driven back,” Zelensky said on Telegram Friday after a meeting with his general staff.
“The occupiers are already mentally prepared for defeat,” said Zelensky. “They have already lost this war in their minds. We have to push them every day so that their sense of defeat leads to their retreat, their mistakes, their losses.”
There has been fierce fighting around the important city for months. Ukraine already announced this week that it is getting closer and closer. “Our forces have advanced two kilometers into the Bachmoet region,” Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maljar wrote. She added that no positions in the city had been abandoned during the week and heavy losses had been inflicted on the Russians.
Russia initially contradicted these reports. On Thursday, the Kremlin sees Russian troops making progress. A day later, the government acknowledged that some Russian troops had now left the area northwest of Bachmut.
Repositioning
Igor Konashenkov, spokesman for the Defense Ministry, says that it is a ‘repositioning’ to strengthen the defense. According to him, Ukraine is fighting north of Bachmut with more than a thousand soldiers and at least forty tanks. That would be the largest Ukrainian offensive since November.
The Russians say they have repelled 26 attacks, but are now retreating to “strategic locations” to regroup, Konashenkov said. According to him, the situation is under control in other parts of the front.
“Panic and chaotic”
Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of Wagner’s mercenary army, paints a different picture. He says the Russians are retreating because of losses. “What Konashenkov describes is unfortunately a defeat and not a regrouping.” The withdrawal of the troops is according to Prigozhin “panic and chaotic”.
The mercenary boss says the main road from the west to Bachmut is now in the hands of Ukraine again. “The enemy has completely cleared the road we had blocked so they can now use it again.”
This week Prigozhin again criticized Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu for not supplying troops in Bachmut. In a letter he challenges the minister, who is formally a general but has no military experience. “In view of the difficult operational situation and your many years of combat experience, I ask you to come to Bachmut, which is held by Russian military units, and assess the situation for yourself.”
READ ALSO. Does Zelensky play stratego at a high level? “Deception is also part of the counter-offensive”(+)
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