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KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The territorial gains made this week by Ukrainian forces in the hotly contested eastern city of Bakhmut have secured an important logistics hub, Ukrainian military commanders said this week.
Their appraisal came as Russia's Defense Ministry said Kyiv had stepped up attacks north of the region, in a statement on Friday.
The 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) of territory retaken by Ukrainian forces south of Bakhmut earlier this week represent a significant gain for Kyiv and will protect an important supply chain, according to the commanders of Ukraine's 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, a special forces unit that led the attack.
The battle for Bakhmut, once a salt-mining town, has been grinding on for eight months, making it the longest of the war so far.
In a statement on Telegram on Friday, Hanna Maliar confirmed that Ukrainian forces gained ground around the city, reiterating statements from Ukrainian military commanders earlier this week.
The head of Russia’s Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, whose mercenary company is spearheading the fight in Bakhmut, claimed that the Russian front had been exposed because of fleeing army units.
Ukrainian military officials have dismissed speculation that the fighting and forward movement in Bakhmut signaled that a much anticipated counter-offensive was underway. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, in remarks broadcast Thursday, that Kyiv was delaying the big push because Ukraine lacks enough Western weapons. The comments were interpreted by some as designed to keep Russia guessing about Ukraine’s next move.
The two-kilometer gain was made near the Siversky-Donets canal, between the villages of Ivanivske and Kurdiumivka, said Rollo the commander of the 1st Assault Battalion of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, which carried out the operation. He spoke on condition he be referred to only by his call sign, in line with Ukrainian military protocols.
“This was the enemy’s bridgehead which they intended to use in their future attacks along the canal, in the direction of Kostiantynivka,” he said. “We had to neutralize the enemy and push them to the other side of the canal.”
One other commander and a military spokesman corroborated this account.
Kostiantynivka is part of an important logistics chain that leads to the city of Kramatorsk.
Rollo said the win followed other successful operations, including one that secured an access road near Khromove, north of Bakhmut, and another that allowed Ukrainian forces to reclaim lost positions in the Industrial College inside Bakhmut city.
The assault south of Bakhmut was followed by a reported increase in Ukrainian offensive actions along the Soledar axis north of the city on Thursday, said Russia’s Defense Ministry. Russia repelled a total of 26 Ukrainian attacks carried out by over 1,000 soldiers along a 95-kilometer contact line, the ministry said, adding that up to 40 tanks were involved.
The slow and grinding fight for Bakhmut has cost both sides heavy casualties, with Ukraine committed to denying Russia any territorial wins despite the area’s marginal strategic significance. Ukrainian forces are stationed inside the city, while Russian troops are attacking from the north, east and south.
Meanwhile at least two civilians were killed and 22 people were injured elsewhere in Ukraine in the 24 hours before Friday morning, according to figures from the Ukrainian President’s Office.
Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of Donetsk province, said a Russian strike hit the city of Kramatorsk, where some Ukrainian military units are based, destroying a school and residential building. In total, Russian shelling struck 11 cities and villages in the region, killing 12 civilians, he said.