city ​​capture Bahamutcenter of fierce fighting for several months in the east Ukraineis critical to opening a gap in Ukraine’s defenses and will allow Moscow’s forces to carry out further offensive operations inland, the Russian defense minister said. Sergei Shoigu.

Russian troops waged an intense campaign for months to take control of the small town, launching the first major offensive into Ukraine since the summer.

“His release Artemovsk continues,” Shoigu said in a televised address, using the Soviet name Bakhmut.

“This city is an important hub (lines) of defense of Ukrainian soldiers in the Donbas. Its capture will allow for new layered offensive operations against the air defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” he stressed.

OUR Evgeny Prigozhinthe head of the Russian Wagner mercenary group, which is leading the battle for the city, said on Friday that his troops have “virtually surrounded” Bakhmut.

President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky Yesterday, on Monday, they noted that Ukrainian forces would continue to defend the city.

Shoigu noted that the West is increasing the supply of weapons to Ukraine, but this will not change the course of events on the battlefield.

“Support for the Kyiv regime by NATO countries will not lead to the success of Ukrainian troops on the battlefield,” he said, noting that Russian troops inflict heavy losses on Ukrainian troops.

Kyiv and Moscow say that a significant number of enemy soldiers died in the battles for Bakhmut.

Reuters notes that it cannot verify the battlefield casualty figures. While military analysts are skeptical of both sides’ reports of dead and wounded, they acknowledge that the months-long battle for control of Bahamut has turned into one of the bloodiest in the war that has raged in Ukraine for more than a year.

Reuters-AFP