Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged Monday evening that the situation of his troops around Bakhmout, in the east of the country, was becoming very difficult. “The situation is getting more and more complicated,” he said in his daily message. “The enemy systematically destroys everything that can be used to protect our positions,” he added, calling the Ukrainian soldiers engaged in this battle “true heroes”.
Since the summer, troops from Moscow have been trying to take the city of Bakhmout, of disputed strategic importance but which has become a symbol of the struggle for control of the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine. In remarks broadcast Monday by Russian television, the head of the Donetsk region (eastern Ukraine) appointed by Moscow, Denis Pushilin, assured that all the access roads to the fortress city of Bakhmout are “within reach of weapons” of the pro-Russian forces.
Russian forces have been trying for several weeks to encircle Bakhmout and have succeeded in cutting off several important supply routes for Ukrainian troops. The boss of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, Evguéni Prigojine, claimed responsibility on Saturday for the capture by his men of the village of Yaguidné, located on the northern outskirts of Bakhmout.
