Group Wagner’s offensive operation east of Bakhmut appears to have entered a temporary tactical hiatus, and it remains unclear whether Wagner’s fighters will maintain their operational advantage in future Russian offensive operations in the city, the Institute for the Study of War said in its latest assessment.

Since Tuesday, when Russian troops captured the part east of the Bakhmutka River, there have been no reports of further offensive actions by Wagner militants from eastern Bakhmutka to the central part of the city.

Wagner’s fighters have been conducting extremely expensive frontal assaults on eastern Bakhmutka for nine months and are probably not ready to force their way through Bakhmutka into the city center.

A frontal attack east of the city likely absorbed a significant portion of Wagner’s personnel and resources, although it is not yet known whether this effort led to the peak of Wagner’s offensive.

Serhiy Cherevaty, spokesman for the Group of Ukrainian Forces in Eastern Ukraine, said on Thursday that an increasing number of unidentified Russian airborne and mechanized forces had recently arrived in Bakhmut.

The arrival of increased numbers of conventional Russian forces in the area may indicate that Russian forces intend to compensate for Wagner’s lack of offensive capabilities in Bakhmut with new conventional forces.

The Wagner Group’s fighters may also hold a temporary tactical pause to await these Russian conventional reinforcements and resupply in preparation for further manpower- and equipment-intensive operations in central Bakhmut.

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