In a post on Telegram on Friday, Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Defense, Hanna Maljar, wrote that Ukraine advanced about two kilometers around Bachmut this week and that they did not “lose a single position”.
– It seems likely that Ukraine has reclaimed terrain probably both north and south of the city, says Joakim Paasikivi, lieutenant colonel and teacher of military strategy at the Norwegian Defense Academy.
Russia movement of troops
Russia’s Defense Ministry initially said reports of Ukrainian gains at Bakhmut “do not correspond to reality,” but in an updated statement on Friday, the Defense Ministry claimed that Russian troops north of Bakhmut have changed positions for strategic reasons. According to the ministry, the troops have now taken up “more advantageous defensive positions” at the Berkhivka water reservoir northwest of Bachmut.
A statement that caused the Wagner Group’s leader Yevgeny Prigozhin to react.
– What actually happened was an escape of Russian soldiers from the flanks, says Yevgeny Prigozhin on his Telegram channel.
According to Prigozhin, the retreat corresponds to a loss of land of 5 square kilometers.
“A remarkable development”
Joakim Paasikivi believes that from the Russian side they usually present everything as if it is going according to plan. Including “catastrophic withdrawals”.
– What we are seeing now is a remarkable development, given that, among other things, I have been saying for several months that Bachmut is at risk of falling, he says.
Ukraine’s successes have led to speculation about whether this is the start of the country’s much-vaunted spring offensive, but on Friday Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maljar played down the rumors, pointing out that fighting in and around Bachmut has been going on for months.
Joakim Paasikivi answers questions about the war
