Kiev (EFE).- The Russian forces that continue to control practically the entire city of Bakhmut, in eastern Ukraine, have changed tactics since the mercenaries of the Wagner group ceded their positions to units of the Russian regular army.
As explained today by a Ukrainian military spokesman, the changing of the guard has brought with it a decrease in hand-to-hand combat and the intensification of the use of artillery and aviation against Kiev’s troops.
In addition, Ruslán Muzichuk assures that the replacement of the Wagnerites – whose shock force was nourished to a large extent by convicts recruited in exchange for their pardon – has led to a decrease in the number of personnel deployed in the city.
In line with other military spokesmen, this representative of the Ukrainian National Guard confirmed that they have the initiative in the Bakhmut theater of operations, in whose surroundings the Kiev forces have been advancing for days.
Advances in Zaporizhia
Another Ukrainian military source, General Staff spokesman Andri Kovalev, reported today that the Ukrainian army “continues its offensive” in Bakhmut and towards the port of Berdyansk, in the southeast of the country and occupied by Russia.
Kovalev explained that the fighting continues in the town of Makarivka, recently recaptured by Ukraine and located in the south-west of the Donetsk province, near the administrative border of Zaporizhia, and in the area of Novodanilivka and Novopokrovka, in Zaporizhia itself.
On the other hand, the spokesman for the General Staff also reported “successful offensive operations” in northern Bakhmut that allow the Ukrainian army to advance to the northeast of this city located in the eastern province of Donetsk.
Ukraine is currently focusing its counteroffensive on three sectors of the front: Donetsk, the part of Donetsk that touches Zaporizhia, and Zaporizhia itself, located further south. kyiv claims to have recaptured 7 towns and some 100 square kilometers of territory in the first days of the counteroffensive.