Fierce fighting has continued for months in Bakhmut, a mining town in Donetsk region that Russia says it has annexed, with casualties comparable to those at Verdun. Although Russian forces failed to capture the already-ruined city, Wagner’s commander, Yevgeny Prigozhin, claims that the “long” battle at Bakhmut actually gave them an advantage, Russian news agency TASS reported.

“The protracted battle for Bakhmut is extremely beneficial for the Russian troops. <...> “Bakhmut enables the Russian army to build up its forces, occupy advantageous defense lines, solve internal problems, train mobilisers and confront any number of fully armed insurgents,” Prigozhin wrote on his Telegram channel.

“Bakhmut is extremely profitable for us, there we grind the Ukrainian army and restrain its maneuvers,” says Wagner’s chief.

Prigozhin declares that Bakhmut is of no interest to Kyiv and admits that the city was almost destroyed, as the Russians did to many cities they supposedly “liberated”.

“Every cry in Bakhmut, every captured soldier, every hundred dead hits Zelensky and the army leadership much harder than the allowances they get from keeping the remnants of this city,” added the mercenary leader of Wagner’s group.

Even if Bakhmut is conquered, it will not lead to a quick victory for Ukraine, claims Prigozhin.

“Putin’s chef” emphasized that Bakhmut does not play an important strategic role, but “Bakhmut is followed by Siversk, Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, Kostyantynivka, Druzhkivka and Chasiv I: settlements that are part of the so-called “Donbas ring” and form fortifications.”

Ukrainian troops “withdraw in an organized manner” from Bakhmut

Ukrainian troops have been forced to withdraw from parts of the frontline town of Bakhmut as Russia renewed its assault on the area with intense artillery fire over the past two days, Britain’s Ministry of Defense wrote in an assessment on Friday morning, Reuters reported.

“Russia has resumed its assault on the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, while the forces of the Russian Ministry of Defense and the Wagner Group have improved cooperation,” the British Ministry of Defense said.

“Ukrainian troops are experiencing significant resupply problems, but they have made an orderly withdrawal from the positions they were forced to surrender,” says the British military’s daily intelligence.

Wagner took the lead on the Russian side in the months-long battle, the deadliest of the war for troops on both sides, but the leader of the mercenary group complained of little support for his forces from the regular army.

“Ukrainian defenses still hold the western areas of the city, but have come under particularly intense Russian artillery fire over the past 48 hours,” the British assessment said.

The British Ministry of Defense said that Wagner’s units are now focused on advancing to the center of Buckmouth, and Russian paratroopers are helping them attack the city’s flanks.

Bakhmut, the main target of Russia in the large-scale winter offensive

Bakhmut, home to around 70,000 people before the war, has been the main target of Russia’s massive winter offensive, which has so far produced scant success, despite ground-infantry battles the likes of which have not been seen in Europe since World War II.

Taking the city would be Russia’s first major victory in eight months. Moscow says this will pave the way for the seizure of more territory in the Donbas in eastern Ukraine, the main goal of the war.

Ukraine, which is preparing for its own counteroffensive, appeared to abandon Bakhmut at the end of February, but announced in March that it would continue to fight there, saying Russia was taking more casualties trying to take it by storm.

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