The Ukrainian military is gaining ground in Bakhmut, a city that has been at the center of intense fighting for weeks as Russian and Ukrainian forces battle for control of the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, DPA and Agerpres reported on Wednesday. .

Ukrainian and Russian forces have again engaged in heavy fighting southwest of Bakhmut, both sides of the conflict said on Wednesday.

The Ukrainian military says it pushed back Russian troops by two kilometers in some places near Bakhmut. “We are conducting effective counterattacks there,” Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of the Ground Forces of Ukraine, said on Telegram on Wednesday evening.

Syrskyi also reported that units of Russian mercenaries of the “Wagner” PMC stationed in Bakhmut were replaced by regular units of the Russian army in some areas. Those less trained units are now broken, the commander said. But, he added, “the battle for Bakhmut continues.”

The founder of the Ukrainian “Azov” battalion, Andriy Biletsky, wrote in Telegram that the territory is completely free from the Russian military and at least two Russian brigades have been defeated and captured.

Prigozhin, alarmed: “Meat Grinder” turns in the opposite direction

As the fighting continues, the leader of Wagner’s mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said he feared his unit would be surrounded in the fighting around the town of Bakhmut. “Given the lack of ammunition, the “meat grinder” is now threatening to turn in the opposite direction,” Prigozhin wrote in Telegram on Wednesday evening.

Due to the large number of losses, Wagner had to leave the protection of the flank to the regular units of the Russian army, which were thrown back two kilometers. “Now there is a serious threat to Wagner’s entourage (group) due to the collapse of the flanks,” Prigozhin wrote. “And the flanks already have cracks and are collapsing.”

Russian reservists called up for annual training. Putin signed the decree

Meanwhile, Russia called up its reservists for annual training after a document signed by President Vladimir Putin was published in the Official Gazette on Wednesday.

With this decree, the Ministry of Defense of Russia can send appropriate instructions to the administration of military districts, which will then call up reservists for training, reports the state news agency TASS. Remembering the war in Ukraine, many reservists are not sure whether they are called up simply for training, or whether they are being prepared to be sent to the front in Ukraine.

According to external estimates, Russia has about two million reservists, of which up to 150,000 will be stationed in Ukraine.

When the draft took place recently, many young people preferred to flee abroad, the DPA agency reminds.

“Don’t consider this counteroffensive to be the last”

A major counteroffensive by the Ukrainian army has been expected for several weeks. However, the head of Ukrainian diplomacy, Dmytro Kuleba, echoing the defense minister’s recent comments, warned against too high hopes for the expected spring offensive of the Ukrainian army.

“Don’t consider this counteroffensive to be the last, because we don’t know what will come of it,” Kuleba told German newspaper Bild. Only if this offensive succeeds in liberating the territories occupied by the Russians, it will be the last, he said. “But if not, that means we have to prepare for the next counterattack.”

Kuleba emphasized that Ukraine will need much more weapons to fight the Russian occupation forces. “Because winning a war requires guns, guns, and more guns,” he said. Much depends on Germany, which, together with the arms company Rheinmetall, is “a kind of titan of the arms industry in Europe and, probably, in the world.”

Rheinmetall is the manufacturer of the popular Leopard tank.

“Who will convince the United States to press the green button?”

In addition to ammunition, tanks and air defense systems, Ukraine needs fighter jets the most. Kuleba is counting on Germany’s help in obtaining modern F-16 fighters. Unlike the Leopard tanks, the decision in this case does not belong to Germany, but to the USA.

“What we expect from Germany is to play an active role in creating a coalition of countries: who will convince the US to press the green button?” Kuleba asked.

“The conditions for a large-scale offensive have not been created”

“They explained to me how the battle unfolds on the front line. The land is still swampy and wet. In some places, large puddles cover the fields. The conditions for a large-scale offensive have not been achieved in recent weeks,” German General Carsten Breuer told DPA after returning from a visit to Ukraine.

In his opinion, Ukraine continues preparations for the offensive. “However, in all the discussions it became clear to me that the Ukrainian offensive is being planned,” he added.

As part of the support received by Kyiv, the Czech Republic transferred two Soviet 2K12 “Kub” anti-aircraft missile systems to Ukraine. The delivery includes “a relatively large number of missiles,” Czech President Petr Pavel said in a radio interview on Wednesday. Ukraine can immediately use this technology, because its military is familiar with it. The system can be used, for example, to protect armored vehicles from air attacks.

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