The Ukrainian army will “very soon take advantage” of the situation on the front in Bakhmut, where Russian attacks remain sluggish due to recorded high losses, said the commander of the Ground Forces of Ukraine, General Oleksandr Sirskyi, quoted by EFE and Agerpres.

Sirsky wrote on his Telegram channel on Thursday that, despite reports that the regular Russian army had taken over the offensive around Bakhmut, the mercenaries of Wagner’s group remained the main component of the Russian assaults there.

“They are significantly losing strength and oxygen,” the Ukrainian general said about the Wagner PMC mercenaries, adding that Ukrainian troops “will very soon take advantage of this opportunity, as they have already done in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Balaklia and Kupyansk,” referring to territories previously besieged and occupied by Russia, which were liberated by Ukraine.

It was Sirsky who commanded the lightning offensive in the Kharkiv region that led to the catastrophic collapse of the Russian front in northeastern Ukraine last September, after being the commander of Kyiv’s defense forces at the beginning of the war.

The resistance of Ukrainian forces in the capital region eventually led to the withdrawal of Russian troops from there at the end of March.

These high-profile victories have led some Western websites to describe him as the most successful overall player of the 21st century.

General Sirski says that Bakhmut’s defenders made a “superhuman” effort

Earlier in March, Sirsky said that the Ukrainian military is trying to capture the Russian invaders in a “Zugzwang” position.

“In chess, zugzwang is a situation where any move by a player leads to a deterioration of his position. We are doing everything to put the enemy in this situation in this war. The defense forces are working. We are proud of every soldier and commander,” he said in his Telegram channel.

In a new statement published on Thursday, the Ukrainian military commended the troops defending Bakhmut, which remained under Kyiv’s control, for “superhuman resistance, courage and bravery that they display under continuous enemy artillery and air fire.”

Bakhmut was the hottest point of the Ukrainian front for several months.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) sees signs that Russia has slowed its operations in Bakhmut. Moscow’s troops have made “minor progress” in some directions, while Ukraine has launched tactical counterattacks in others.

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