Europe 1 with AFP 11:45 am, March 25, 2023

On the 395th day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Kiev's army reportedly managed to "stabilize" the situation around Bakhmut, located in the east of the country. For eight months, this strategic city has been the epicenter of fighting between Russians and Ukrainians.

THE ESSENTIALS

The Chief of Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said his troops had managed to "stabilize" the situation around Bakhmut, the epicenter for eight months of fighting against Russian forces in eastern Ukraine. This city, which had around 70,000 inhabitants before the Russian invasion of Ukraine at the end of February 2022 but is now deserted by civilians, is the scene of the longest and bloodiest battle since the outbreak of the war.

Information to remember:

  • The Ukrainian army reportedly managed to "stabilize" the situation around Bakhmut
  • This city has been the epicenter of fighting against Russian forces for eight months.

The "most difficult" situation on the front line is "around Bakhmut," Valery Zaluzhny said late Friday night in a phone call with Britain's Chief of the Defence Staff, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin. "Thanks to the tremendous efforts of the defense forces, we are able to stabilize the situation," Valery Zaluzhny wrote on Facebook.

Russian forces sometimes report hard-won territory around the city, which has become more of a symbol than a strategic site from a purely military point of view as the fighting continues. According to a British intelligence report published on Saturday, "Russia's offensive on the city of Bakhmut, in the Donbass region, is largely at a standstill". "This is most likely above all the result of the extreme attrition of Russian forces," the British said in a statement, stressing that Kiev had also "suffered heavy human losses".

Ukrainian ground forces commander Oleksandr Syrsky said Thursday on Telegram that a counteroffensive could "very soon" be launched against "exhausted" Russian forces near Bakhmut. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Ukrainian troops near the Bakhmut frontline on Wednesday.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner whose men are at the forefront of the battle, said Monday that his forces controlled about 70 percent of the city. In recent weeks, Russian forces have advanced north and south of Bakhmut, cutting off several Ukrainian supply routes.