Ukraine says Russian forces have advanced in direction of Bakhmut with ‘partial success’

ISTANBUL

Ukraine said Wednesday that attacks by Russian forces in the direction of Bakhmut in the country’s Donetsk region have continued with “partial success” as the city continues to be a hot spot for intense clashes between the two sides.

“In the direction of Bakhmut, the enemy continues its assault on the city of Bakhmut, with partial success. However, our defenders courageously hold the city, repulsing numerous enemy attacks,” the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said on Facebook.

The statement said that Russia conducted “unsuccessful offensives” in the Orekhovo-Vasylivka area of Donetsk, adding it was also shelled. It said the cities of Bakhmut, Chasiv Yar, Toretsk and Minkivka came under shelling.

“The enemy is concentrating its main efforts on conducting offensive actions in the Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Marinka directions. The settlements of Bilohorivka, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Marinka remain at the epicenter of hostilities. Units of the Defense Forces of Ukraine repelled 48 enemy attacks in the specified directions,” it added.

It said the probability of launching missile and airstrikes throughout Ukraine remains high.

Earlier in the day, the head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary force, Yevgeny Prigozhin, claimed that the battle for the city of Bakhmut "almost destroyed the Ukrainian army" and "battered" his group.

Russian forces have been trying for months to capture Bakhmut, a transport and logistics hub which is part of the largely Russian-speaking industrialized Donbas region.​​​​​​​