Russia closes in on ‘desperate resistance’

Global Courant

KYIV (Reuters) – Advancing Ukrainian troops are encountering “desperate resistance” from Russian troops around the eastern city of Bakhmut, a senior Ukrainian commander said on Friday.

Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, who is in charge of Ukraine’s ground forces, said the situation in the east was tense and Russia was bringing its best divisions to the Bakhmut sector with artillery and aircraft backup.

“We continue to conduct offensive actions in different directions, occupying dominant heights and strips of forest with the aim of gradually forcing the enemy out of the outskirts of Bakhmut. Realizing this, the enemy units put up a desperate resistance,” Syrskyi said on the Telegram messaging app.

The small, devastated city of Bakhmut in Ukraine’s Donetsk region has been the scene of some of the fiercest and bloodiest fighting since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

The Ukrainian army said last week it had begun pushing back Russian troops in and around Bakhmut.

Syrskyi reiterated that Ukrainian forces were also advancing in the south. Kiev said on Thursday it had regained control of about 100 square kilometers (38 square miles) of territory in just over a week of its counter-offensive against Russian forces.

Military analysts have said tougher fighting lies ahead.

Reuters was unable to verify the situation on the battlefield. Russia has not officially acknowledged the Ukrainian advance, saying Ukrainian troops have suffered heavy casualties, but Reuters has confirmed the liberation of at least two villages in the east.

(Reporting by Olena Harmash, Editing by Timothy Heritage)

Russia closes in on ‘desperate resistance’

Asia Region News ,Next Big Thing in Public Knowledg