A Ukrainian unit said on Wednesday it had routed a Russian brigade near the bastion of Bakhmut in an incident underlining the task before the Kremlin in what it calls a “very difficult” military operation.
The unit’s claim appeared to be supported by comments from the head of Wagner’s private army, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who said on Tuesday that the Russian brigade had abandoned its positions in Bakhmut, Moscow at the scene of its winter offensive and the bloodiest ground fighting in Europe. was the primary goal of second World War.
Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, who heads Ukraine’s ground forces, said Russian units in parts of Bakhmut retreated as much as two km (1.2 mi) as a result of the counter-attacks. He did not give any details.
Reuters was unable to independently verify the ground situation. Wagner’s units have led a months-long Russian assault on the eastern city, which has suffered heavy losses, but the Ukrainian military says the offensive is stalling.
“Special military operations are on. It is a very difficult operation, and of course, few goals have been achieved in a year,” Tas New agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying to a Bosnian Serb television channel.
“We managed to destroy the Ukrainian military machine to a large extent,” Peskov said, referring to Russian missile attacks in Ukraine. “This work will continue”.