Russian forces pull out near Bakhmut, say Ukraine and Wagner group

The Ukrainian military and the Wagner mercenary group reported fresh Russian withdrawals around the city of Bakhmut on Thursday, as Kiev recorded its biggest advance in six months ahead of a planned counter-offensive.

Ukrainian troops near the front line said Russia was bombing access roads to slow the Ukrainian attack, which has changed pace after months of slow Russian gains in ground combat.

“Now, for the most part, as we start to move forward, they are bombing all the routes to the front positions, so our armored vehicles cannot carry more infantry, ammunition and other things,” said Petro Podaru, commander of an artillery unit. ukrainian.

Ukraine’s military said troops advanced in some places by more than a kilometer. His forces had been on the defensive for half a year, withstanding a massive Moscow offensive that made only slow gains.

“Despite the fact that our units had no advantage in equipment… and personnel, they continued to advance along the flanks and covered a distance of 150 to 1,700 meters,” military spokesman Serhiy Cherevatyi said in televised remarks.

Wagner Group and Russian retreat

The head of the Russian Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said his forces within Bakhmut itself were still advancing, on the cusp of driving Ukrainian troops out of their last foothold in the built-up area on the western outskirts of the city.

But he accuses commanders of Russia’s regular forces of abandoning ground north and south of the city, increasing the risk that troops inside will be surrounded.

“Unfortunately, Russian Defense Ministry units have retreated up to 570 meters north of Bakhmut, exposing our flanks,” Prigozhin said in his last voicemail on Thursday.

“I am appealing to the leadership of the Ministry of Defense — publicly — because my letters are not being read,” Prigozhin said, addressing Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov.

The Russian Defense Ministry has acknowledged some withdrawals from positions near Bakhmut in the past week, but denies Prigozhin’s claims that the flanks are collapsing or that he has withheld ammunition from the Wagner.

“Mice in a mousetrap”

Ukraine says its tactic around Bakhmut is to lure Russian forces into the city so as to weaken Russia’s frontline defenses elsewhere ahead of Kiev’s planned counterattack.

“Wagner’s troops entered Bakhmut like mice in a mousetrap,” Oleksander Syrskyi, commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, told troops in front of Bakhmut in a video that he released this week on social media.

On Thursday, air raid sirens blared overnight, black smoke filled the sky over Kiev and one person was killed in the southern city of Odessa. Ukraine said it had shot down 29 of the 30 missiles launched while Moscow said it had hit military targets.

Russia has also suffered attacks and explosions both in the Ukrainian territory it controls and in Russian territory close to the border. Authorities in Russian-occupied Crimea reported that a freight train had derailed overnight due to “interference”.