Ukraine-Russia War Live Updates: Ukraine Acknowledges Russian Advance In Bakhmut
Ukraine acknowledged some Russian gains inside the eastern battlefield city of Bakhmut while insisting on Thursday that it was inflicting greater losses on the Russian attackers than its own forces were taking in defence.
The small mining city of Bakhmut has been the site of the bloodiest infantry battle in Europe since World War Two as Russian forces have sought their first victory since mid-2022 in a huge winter assault.
Ukraine has been on the defensive for nearly five months but says it is planning a counteroffensive soon.
“Enemy forces had a degree of success in their actions aimed at storming the city of Bakhmut,” the General Staff of the Ukrainian armed forces said in an overnight report. “Our defenders are holding the city and are repelling numerous enemy attacks.”
The report gave no details of the Russian gains. The Institute for the Study of War thinks tank said Russian troops and Wagner mercenaries had captured territory in the south and southwest of the city over the past two days, and Wagner had occupied a metal plant in its north this week.
Russian forces have been advancing slowly inside Bakhmut in the intense street fighting for weeks. Kyiv seemed likely a month ago to abandon the city but has since decided to stay and fight for it, hoping to break the attacking force.
Deputy defence minister Hanna Malyar said in a social media post that losses were inevitable, but “the enemy’s losses are many times greater”.
Serhiy Cherevatyi, a Ukrainian military spokesperson, told national television: “Bakhmut remains the epicentre of military activity…It’s still constantly ‘hot’ there.”
As winter has turned to spring, the pressing question is how much longer Russia can sustain its offensive, and when or if Ukraine will strike back.
There are signs its campaign is slowing down. The number of daily Russian attacks on the front line reported by Ukraine’s general staff has declined almost by half over the past four weeks.
