Ukrainian counterattacks have pushed Russian forces out of some positions in the besieged eastern city of Bakhmut, but the situation remains “difficult,” a senior Ukrainian general said, according to Reuters.

Bakhmut is the hottest district on the front linePhoto: AA/ABACA / Abaca Press / Profimedia

Over the past few months, the Battle of Bakhmut has become the focus of a conflict that has seen little change on the front since late last year.

“The situation is quite difficult,” Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of the Ground Forces, said on Telegram on Monday.

Ukrainians launched a counterattack in Bakhmut

“At the same time, in some parts of the city, the enemy was the object of counterattacks by our units and left some positions,” he added.

Syrskyi said this during a visit to frontline troops on Sunday, the military said.

He added that new Russian units, including paratroopers and fighters from Wagner’s mercenary group, “constantly rushed into battle” despite heavy losses.

“But the enemy is unable to take control of the city,” Sirsky said.

Prigozhin claims that Wagner’s troops have made some progress, but they are running out of ammunition

Russian troops are slowly and steadily advancing towards Bakhmut, but a Ukrainian military spokesman said on Sunday that food, ammunition and medicine could still be delivered to the city’s defenders on the “road of life”.

Sunday. Evgeny Prigozhin, the leader of Wagner’s mercenaries, claimed that his forces advanced 100-150 meters deep into Bakhmut, leaving a little less than 3 square kilometers of the city in Ukrainian hands.

In a nearly 90-minute video interview with Russian military blogger Semyon Pegov on Saturday, Prigozhin threatened to withdraw his troops from Bakhmut, saying his troops only had a few days’ worth of ammunition left.

On Monday, Ukraine said its forces had repelled more than 36 enemy attacks on the eastern side of the front line, which stretches from Bakhmut to Maryinka, west of Donetsk.

Kyiv is preparing for a large-scale counteroffensive to retake parts of the territory in the east and south occupied by Russian troops after the invasion.