Tag: Bakhmut

Ukraine Claimes Its Forces Fight on in Bakhmut Despite Russian Claim to Have Taken It

KYIV—Ukraine’s military claimed its troops were locked in combat with Russian forces around the administration building of Bakhmut on Monday, and it poured scorn on Russian claims that Russians had captured the eastern city after months of warfare. In Moscow, the Kremlin accused Ukraine of being behind a bomb blast at a cafe in St…


Kyiv Vows to Recover Besieged Bakhmut Amid Fears of Wider Escalation

Ukrainian military officials have confirmed plans to launch a major counteroffensive to recover the strategic city of Bakhmut, a vital Ukrainian transport hub in the eastern Donetsk region. The scene of fierce ground fighting for several months, Bakhmut is largely surrounded by Russian forces, although a substantial number of Ukrainian troops remain in the city….


Kyiv Says Forces Are Holding on in ‘Hellish’ Bakhmut Battle

KYIV—Kyiv said on Monday its troops were still holding out in a “hellish” fight for Bakhmut, while Washington said that even if the eastern Ukrainian city should fall to a Russian offensive, it would not necessarily give Moscow momentum in the war. In the latest sign of a feud between Russia’s military and the Wagner…


Russia Close to Encircling Ukraine’s Bakhmut After Months of Fighting

CHASIV YAR, Ukraine—Russian artillery pounded the last routes out of Bakhmut on Friday, aiming to complete the encirclement of the besieged Ukrainian city and bring Moscow closer to its first major victory in half a year. The head of Russia’s Wagner private army said the city was almost completely surrounded with only one road still…


Russian Mercenary Chief Says Ukraine’s Bakhmut Is Practically Surrounded

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of Russia’s Wagner mercenary force, said in a video published on Friday that the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut was “practically surrounded” by his forces and that Kyiv’s forces had only one road left out. Prigozhin’s men have spearheaded the assault in eastern Ukraine for months. Moscow regards Bakhmut, which it calls…


Ukraine Clings to Bakhmut; Russia Says It Battles Saboteurs in Cross-Border Raid

CHASIV YAR, Ukraine—Ukrainian forces hung on to positions in the ruined eastern city of Bakhmut on Thursday, while Moscow said its security forces had battled Ukrainian saboteurs who had taken hostages in a cross-border raid. Russia’s FSB security force said the situation was now “under control” in Bryansk Province just north of the Ukrainian border….


Russians Claim to Have Encircled Bakhmut, Kyiv Calls Situation ‘Extremely Tense’

All roads leading into the strategic town of Bakhmut are now under Russian control, Moscow’s military officials asserted this week. The scene of fierce fighting for the past several months, Bakhmut is a key transport hub for Ukrainian forces deployed in the eastern Donetsk region. “Bakhmut [Artyomovsk in Russian] has been encircled,” Yan Gagin, an…


Russians Tighten Noose on Ukraine’s Bakhmut, Putin Warns of Western Espionage

KYIV—Russian forces on Tuesday pressed forward their weeks-long drive to encircle and capture the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut where the commander of Ukraine’s ground forces described the situation as “extremely tense.” Capturing Bakhmut, scene of some of the war’s bloodiest battles, would open the way for Russia for taking the last remaining urban centers…


Russian Advances on Eastern Front Hobbled by Infighting

As Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine enters its second year, Russian forces appear to have regained the initiative, having recently captured several key positions in the eastern Donetsk region. Nevertheless, this week saw a rare–and surprisingly public–display of infighting between Russia’s top brass and the Wagner Group, a private military company with close ties to the…


Pressure Builds to Send Tanks to Kyiv; Russian Forces Home In on Bakhmut

Leading allies of Kyiv are slated to meet Friday in Germany as pressure mounts on Berlin to provide the Ukrainian military with German-made Leopard combat tanks. Russian sources, meanwhile, continue to report battlefield gains following the Jan. 10 capture of Soledar, a salt-mining town in the Donetsk region. A tank fires a round amid Russia’s…