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 adviser to the head of the Moscow-recognized Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), told Russia’s TASS news agency on Feb. 27.
“Our forces control the roads leading into the city,” he said.
Ukrainian army from the 43rd Heavy Artillery Brigade fire the German howitzer Panzerhaubitze 2000, called Tina by the unit, near Bahmut, in Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Feb. 5, 2023, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine. (Marko Djurica TPX Images of the Day/Reuters)
According to Gagin, ammunition supplies to Ukrainian forces inside Bakhmut—along with troop reinforcements—have now been choked off due to recent Russian advances….