Oleksandr Syrskyi, the Commander of the Ground Forces of the Ukrainian military, has called the advance of Ukrainian troops in the Bakhmut direction “the first success in the offensive of the Bakhmut operation”, Ukraine’s Defence Ministry cites his statement.
“The last few days have demonstrated that we can make advances and eliminate our enemy even in these super challenging conditions. We have fewer resources to fight than our enemy, and yet we are able to thwart its plans.
This happens thanks to our fighters who repel the aggressor, surpassing the limits of what a human can do. However, this is but a partial success, and this is how it has to be treated. The Bakhmut defence operation is ongoing,” Syrskyi said.
Hanna Maliar, the deputy Defence Minister of Ukraine, reported earlier today that Russia had sent paratroopers to Bakhmut. “The situation is very tough in and around Bakhmut. There is heavy fighting. The defence of Bakhmut is ongoing,” Maliar said.
She noted that the Ukrainian troops have been “managing to make advances” for several days straight. At the same time, “Russia is gathering its storming paratrooper units to the vicinity of Bakhmut”.
Maliar reported on Saturday that Ukrainian troops were “gradually making advances” in two directions on the outskirts of Bakhmut, “destroying the enemy and taking quite a few captives”.
Commander of the Ground Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi wrote in his Telegram channel that Ukraine’s military “was making advances on certain portions of the front line, and the enemy was losing manpower and equipment”.
At the same time, Serhiy Cherevaty, speaker of the Eastern Group of Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said on Ukrainian TV that Ukrainian troops had advanced 300 metres in the Bakhmut direction in a day.
On Friday, Cherevaty said on TV that during the three days of counter-offensive operations, the Ukrainian military liberated 17.3 square km in the Bakhmut direction.
