2023-05-17 11:05:02
Kiev (AFP) – Ukrainian authorities said on Monday they had pushed back Russian troops from the flanks of Bakhmut, but acknowledged they were advancing inside the troubled town.
Ukraine has retaken about 20 square kilometers of land from Russia’s pincer offensive around Bakhmut, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Ganna Maliar said. Bakhmut was the center of the Russian invasion.
“At the same time, the enemy has advanced somewhat inside Bahemut and is destroying the town with artillery fire,” Marial said on social media.
Ukrainian ground forces commander Oleksandr Syrskyi had earlier said he had visited troops near Bakhmut to award troops involved in the longest battle since Russia’s all-out invasion.
“Members of the Wagner group, a group of Russian mercenaries, entered Bachemt like rats in a mousetrap,” said Selsky.
The Ministry of Defense said: “Over the past four days, Ukrainian forces have made tactical gains, stabilizing Bakhmut’s flanks and turning them to their advantage.”
On the same day, Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner Group, said in a video shared by a Russian military blogger that an American volunteer was killed while fighting alongside the Ukrainian army in the east.
“This American citizen has come to meet us,” Prigogine said, displaying a body he claimed was American. It is unclear where and when the video was filmed.
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