|
Russian forces said on Saturday they had completely taken
Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine after months of heavy fighting.
Ukraine says it has made advances on the devastated city's
northern and southern flanks, and hopes to encircle it.
"In the city of Bakhmut, the fighting has decreased, the enemy
continues to clear the areas under its control," Ukrainian
Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar wrote on the Telegram
messaging app.
Repeating Ukraine's assertions that its forces still hold a
small part of the city 15 months after Russia's full-scale
invasion, she said: "Our troops control the southwestern
outskirts of the city in the 'Litak' district."
She said Kyiv's forces had made some progress "on the flanks to
the north and south of Bakhmut" but gave no details.
Russian offensive actions had decreased slightly, she said, and
added: "At the same time, the amount of shelling is consistently
high."
Reuters was unable to verify the battlefield reports.
Moscow says capturing Bakhmut opens the way to further advances
in the eastern industrial region known as the Donbas bordering
Russia. Ukraine says its advance on the Russian forces' flanks
is more meaningful than its withdrawal inside Bakhmut itself,
and Russia will have to weaken its lines elsewhere to send
reinforcements to hold the shattered city.
(Reporting by Max Hunder, Eidting by Timothy Heritage)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
