Ukrainian Forces Withdraw from Bakhmut Amid Renewed Russian Attack

Western nations have previously highlighted divisions between Russia’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) and the country’s main mercenary force, Wagner, as a significant weakness for Russia.

“Russia has intensified its assault on the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, with improved cooperation between Russian MoD forces and the Wagner group,” the British military announced in a daily briefing.

Ukrainian troops are facing significant supply difficulties, but they have withdrawn in an organized manner from positions they had to abandon, it added.

Russian Winter Attack

Bakhmut, which had a population of around 70,000 before the conflict, has been Russia’s main target in a large-scale winter offensive that has so far yielded little results despite unprecedented ground combat intensity in Europe since World War II.

Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar stated that Russian commanders had redeployed troops to Bakhmut from other areas. “The enemy is using its most competent units and employing a large amount of artillery and aviation,” she wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

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Ukrainian Troops Prepare for Counterattack

Following significant Ukrainian advances in the second half of 2022, frontlines have remained virtually unchanged for the past five months, despite a massive Russian offensive. Moscow has mobilized hundreds of thousands of recently conscripted reservists and thousands of mercenaries recruited from prisons. Meanwhile, Kyiv has mainly focused on defending its lines while awaiting the delivery of new Western weapons for a planned counteroffensive in the coming months.

“We are preparing our soldiers,” President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video address on Thursday evening. “We are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the weapons promised by our allies. We are getting as close as possible to victory.”

Ukraine had appeared willing to give up Bakhmut in late February but announced in March that it would continue to fight, believing it was important to defend the largely destroyed city due to the losses inflicted on Russians attempting to attack it.

Both sides claim to inflict significant losses. Leaked US intelligence documents last week indicate that Russia has lost between 35,500 and 43,000 killed soldiers, while Ukraine has lost between 15,500 and 17,500, which is between one-third and half as many.