The situation remains tense on all front lines in Donbass. After the head of the private military company Wagner appealed to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to allow the withdrawal of units now fighting in the city of Bakhmut, the Kiev regime has yet to take any official step and declare the withdrawal of the Ukrainian army.
“Address to Zelensky by the leader of the Wagner group. For almost a year western media asserted “Who takes Bakhmut wins the war”. Bakhmut is about to fall. How will Zelensky answer for the thousands of lives he sacrificed in one of the bloodiest meat grinders of the modern… https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1632804665640230920…
The city is almost surrounded. Only one road leading to Chasov Yar can be used to transport Ukrainian forces, but it remains under heavy Russian artillery fire and any movement along this road is very dangerous.
About ten thousand Ukrainian soldiers were surrounded in Bakhmut, and the losses are expected to affect the Ukrainian spring offensive. In recent days, several videos shared by Ukrainian soldiers confirmed that many Ukrainian groups began to leave the besieged city. Some of them try to escape through the fields to the southwest of the city. Meanwhile, the number of Ukrainian military columns, which were destroyed while trying to withdraw along the last road remaining under Ukrainian control, has also increased in recent days.
While Kiev officials admit only “some deterioration of the situation in the Bakhmut region and claim that they are sending additional forces there to push back Russians,” Ukrainian military sources as well as Western media have admitted that Russian Wagner fighters have already destroyed most of the units of the Ukrainian army in Bakhmut.
Wagner sources shared the videos confirming that there are many conscripts left in the city, including young boys and old men, who do not survive long in the heavy fighting for Bahamut.
According to unconfirmed reports, the Ukrainian army has begun withdrawing some of its most valuable units, their retreat being covered by untrained territorial defense fighters.
For example, on March 5, at least two Ukrainian groups that tried to leave Bakhmut through the village of Krasnoe were destroyed by Wagner fighters. In total, up to 30 Ukrainian soldiers were killed and more than 60 wounded. On the outskirts of Bakhmut, Ukrainian forces still hold positions in Krasnoe, Bogdanovka and Khromovo. They fight fiercely in an attempt to allow other units to retreat before the cauldron closes. At the same time, the Russian offensive continues in the city. At least 20 Ukrainian strongholds were reportedly captured last weekend.
The advance of Russian forces continues in all directions into the besieged city. So far, about 40% of Bahamut has reportedly come under Russian control.
