Ukraine's counterattacking forces are trying to leverage their momentum around the devastated eastern city of Bakhmut to trap Russian forces there, according to a senior Defense Ministry official. The news comes amid "significant" battles on the settlement's northern flank.
Hanna Maliar—Kyiv's deputy defense minister and a prominent source of updates on Ukraine's ongoing counterattack—wrote on her Telegram channel Wednesday that "fierce" fighting continues around Bakhmut, which for almost a year has been at the crux of first Russian and then Ukrainian offensive operations.
"Our defense forces are hitting the enemy in the east so powerfully that in some areas their military units have begun to leave their positions," Maliar wrote, claiming that the Russian command is now using "blocking units" deployed just behind the front lines to prevent the retreat of their comrades.
"With weapons aimed at their backs, they are trying to ensure the stability of the troops," Maliar said.
The "hottest" portions of the eastern front are around the Donetsk cities of Lyman and Bakhmut, Maliar reported. "Fierce fighting in the Bakhmut direction. The enemy is firmly holding on to the positions occupied."
Ukrainian forces have been gradually advancing on the city's southern and northern flanks for more than a month, even while surrendering the city center to advancing Russian troops after months of costly fighting. Maliar said Ukrainian efforts continue on both sides of the city, but added the "situation can change every hour."
"Today is just such a day—the situation was dynamically changing. Therefore, there were battles on the northern flank around Bakhmut, as of the end of the day without significant advances. On the northern flank in some places there were advances today."
"The enemy is trapped in the city itself thanks to our fighters," Maliar added. "He cannot move fully, he cannot leave the city."
Serhiy Cherevaty, spokesperson for the eastern group of Ukrainian forces, also noted progress. Kyiv's units, he said as quoted by Ukrinform, "continue to hold the initiative, carry out assault actions, pushing back the enemy on the southern and northern flanks. The enemy is fiercely resisting."
Newsweek has contacted the Russian Defense Ministry by email to request comment.
The Institute for the Study of War's Wednesday bulletin noted "successful offensive operations in the Bakhmut area" by Ukrainian forces. It also cited Russian military bloggers who reported "that Ukrainian forces liberated an important height near Klishchiivka," some four miles to the southwest of Bakhmut.
Ukraine's long-awaited counteroffensive has started slowly, with multiple attacks along the 800-mile front forming a broad effort to stretch Russian defenses and identify potential weak spots. Russia has repeatedly claimed the defeat of Ukrainian drives, inflicting heavy casualties in the process.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has acknowledged that the operation is progressing "slower than desired," but also urged patience among Kyiv's key Western backers. "Some people believe this is a Hollywood movie and expect results now," he said last month. "It's not."
General Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of the Ukrainian ground forces, told ABC News this week that "things are developing according to plans that were drawn up and approved," despite concerns about the slow pace of the operation.
Also this week, Brigadier General Oleksii Hromov—the deputy chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the Ukrainian armed forces—told Ukrinform that Kyiv's forces have liberated nine settlements and more than 60 square miles of territory since the offensive began in early June.
Prominent foreign experts have also warned against jumping to conclusions. Last month, Ben Hodges—the former commander of U.S. Army Europe—told Newsweek that early claims of a Ukrainian failure are "nonsense."
"Nobody, until you get to the very top levels, is going to have an oversight of the much larger picture," Hodges said. "You couldn't declare a failure any more than you could declare victory based on what we are able to see."
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David Brennan is Newsweek's Diplomatic Correspondent covering world politics and conflicts from London with a focus on NATO, the European ... Read more
