Ukraine said Tuesday its forces had fended off Russian assaults on a road outside Bakhmut within the east, thwarting Moscow’s try and gain control of an important supply route.
Russian forces have did not cut off the road leading from the town Chasiv Yar to Bakhmut, which is used for supplying Kyiv’s troops, Ukrainian military spokesperson Serhiy Cherevaty said.
“The Ukrainian army in Bakhmut is supplied with every little thing obligatory,” he added.
Cherevaty said Bakhmut — nicknamed “fortress Bakhmut” for withstanding among the heaviest fighting of the war — remained considered one of the fundamental focuses of Russian attacks, including relentless artillery strikes and infantry assaults.
A Belarusian volunteer fighting for Ukraine told Reuters from inside Bakhmut that Russia was shelling town continually and its troops were attempting to encircle it. Fighting was underway constructing by constructing, the volunteer said.
Russian forces have made incremental advances in the world in recent weeks, notably capturing the salt-mining town of Soledar to Bakhmut’s north.
If Bakhmut falls, it will be Moscow’s first major gain since July 2022.
Earlier Tuesday, Russia claimed control of Blahodatne, a small village just north of Bakhmut. The Post couldn’t independently confirm that information.
Ukrainian troops, the Russian military and the Wagner Group, Russia’s private mercenary force, have been locked for months in a fierce battle of attrition within the Bakhmut area, which either side have described as a meat grinder.
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Individually, a big Russian force has launched an assault against the Ukrainian-held bastion of Vuhledar this week, farther south along the identical eastern front. Russian officials have claimed to have secured a foothold there, while Kyiv says it has largely repelled that attack to date.
Britain’s Ministry of Defense said the Russian force in the brand new Vuhledar assault was at the least the dimensions of a brigade — a unit typically comprising several thousand troops.
It said the assault on Vuhledar was unlikely to steer to a big breakthrough but could possibly be intended to attract Ukrainian forces away from defending Bakhmut.
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Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior aide to President Volodymyr Zelensky, said Ukraine was in urgent need of more weapons to repel Moscow’s forces because Russia had stepped up attacks.
He wrote on Twitter that “systematic shelling of frontline cities, accumulation of ordnance, redeployment of troops, additional forced mobilization surely don’t indicate RF’s (Russia’s) readiness for peace.”
“These are direct signs of great escalation. Subsequently, weapons, weapons & more weapons for Ukraine,” he added.
Since winning Western pledges last week to supply modern battle tanks, Kyiv has requested more weapons, including fighter jets, which have turn into some extent of contention amongst Ukraine’s allies.
With Post wires
