Ukrainian soldiers take control of Bakhmut. "Enemy forces are trapped"

The commander of the Ukrainian land forces, Oleksandr Syrski, announced that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are taking control of the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine.

Ukrainian commander: Russians are trapped in Bakhmut

Oleksandr Syrski wrote on his Telegram profile that Russian forces in Bakhmut were “trapped” and the city was “now under the fire control of the defense forces”, meaning that all points in Bakhmut were within range of Kyiv's artillery.

The operations of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Bakhmut continue, and Russian troops are trying to break out of their positions in this direction - he added. 

Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malar said that Ukrainian troops have captured key hills around the city as Ukraine continues its counteroffensive. The deputy head of the Ukrainian defense ministry added that Ukrainian troops had established fire control over “entrances, exits and enemy movement around the city” over the past few days. “During the advance process, our troops took control of the key command hills around Bakhmut,” she wrote on Telegram.

https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1678375024879628289

According to information provided by the Russian Ministry of Defense and bloggers associated with the Kremlin, Ukrainian forces carried out attacks in the western part of the Zaporizhia oblast One Russian blogger reported that Ukrainian forces are attacking Russian positions in small groups and targeting Russian rear positions, warehouses and infrastructure.

The situation at the front. Russians desperate to fill the gaps in the army

Fighting takes place in the Donetsk Basin. The Ukrainian General Staff announced on Monday that cities and settlements were being shelled. At night, the Russians also launched a missile attack on Mykolaiv. The Russians concentrate their main efforts in the vicinity of Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Mariinka. Ukrainian forces repulsed more than 30 Russian attacks there. After the failed assaults, the Russians began artillery shelling over fifty settlements.

Over the past week, Ukrainian soldiers liberated four square kilometers of the Russian-occupied city. In total, the area liberated in the Bakhmut sector is 24 square kilometers. The battle for control of Bakhmut has been raging since early August last year.

According to information from the staff, the Russians are trying to make up for the losses suffered at the front by recruiting criminals and the unemployed. At the training ground of Altai Krai near the border with Kazakhstan, training is underway for 300 people who have signed a contract with the Russian army.