Ukrainian troops pulled back from some territory in Bakhmut this week as Russia launched a “re-energized” assault on the Donetsk Oblast battlefield city, British intelligence said Friday.
“Russia has re-energized its assault on the Donetsk Oblast town of Bakhmut as forces of the Russian [Ministry of Defense] and Wagner Group have improved cooperation,” the update read.
“Ukrainian forces face significant resupply issues but have made orderly withdrawals from the positions they have been forced to concede,” it continued.
“The Ukrainian defense still holds the western districts of the town but has been subjected to particularly intense Russian artillery fire over the previous 48 hours.”
The Wagner Group, Russia’s primary, controversial mercenary force, has played a key role in the scramble for Bakhmut, which is one of the last urban centers in the region to resist Russian incursion.
According to the UK’s Friday update, Wagner Group fighters are pursuing the city center, while paratroopers spearhead assaults on the outskirts.
Ukrainian artillery fires toward the front line in the eastern city. REUTERS
Bakhmut has been the subject of heavy fighting for months. AP
A Ukrainian artillery unit operates from muddy trenches near the city. REUTERSNow reduced to rubble, Bakhmut was once home to around 70,000 people. Capturing the city would be Russia’s first major victory in several months.
The winter campaign in the region is thought to have yielded a level of infantry combat not seen since World War II.
News of Russia’s gains in Bakhmut comes one week after British intelligence said that the Kremlin’s forces may have captured the city center and were threatening Ukraine’s key supply lines.
Ukrainian servicemen drive toward the front line during heavy fighting in Bakhmut. REUTERS
Bakhmut was once home to some 70,000 people. It is now mostly rubble. REUTERSWith Post wires
