Deputy Defense Minister of Ukraine Hanna Maljar said Russian troops had suffered significant losses in the fighting for the city, which used to have a population of around 70,000. In the last few days, the Ukrainian units have advanced up to two kilometers in the direction of Bakhmut and have not had to give up a single position.
Moscow immediately denied reports like this and reports of breakthroughs by Ukrainian troops elsewhere. “The overall situation in the area of special military operations is under control,” the Russian Defense Ministry said, using the government-mandated term for the war in Ukraine.
Attacks near the city of Soledar were repelled. “All attacks by the Ukrainian military were repelled. The Russian armed forces did not allow a front breakthrough,” said Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov.
Unusually quick denials from Moscow
The ministry reacted “unusually quickly” to the Ukrainian reports, wrote the US think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in its daily assessment of the war in Ukraine. The commander of the armed forces in eastern Ukraine, Olexandr Syrskyj, reported that the Russians were retreating a few kilometers. The ISW called the Russian positions there “vulnerable” to Ukrainian attacks.
After that, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi also reported on Friday about successes in the battle for Bakhmut. “We heard the report of General Syrskyj, whose units with overwhelming efforts stopped the enemy and even threw them back in some sectors,” he said via Telegram after a general staff meeting. The situation is also under control on the other front sections.
Reports of breakthroughs through Russian lines
Moscow did not comment on warnings from the head of the Wagner troop, Yevgeny Prigozhin, and other critical voices from Russia about the increasingly bad situation of the Russian troops in Bakhmut. The Wagner group is threatened with encirclement in Bakhmut, wrote the Russian journalist Yevgeny Poddubny, who is considered the Kremlin’s mouthpiece in the war, on Telegram on Thursday.
Wehrschütz (ORF) for the counter-offensive
ORF correspondent Christian Wehrschütz talks about the expected counter-offensive by Ukraine. It is dependent on arms deliveries from the West and, according to Kiev, still needs some preparation time.
Prigozhin had previously warned of an impending encirclement due to unsecured flanks. Poddubny also reported Ukrainian breakthroughs in fighting around Soledar, which is only a few kilometers northeast of Bakhmut. On Friday, Prigozhin invited Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to visit Bakhmut on site.
Conflicts between Wagner and army
Prigozhin, who was always considered a close confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is increasingly on a confrontational course with the Kremlin. In the past few weeks, he has primarily complained about the lack of support for his troops with ammunition and equipment. Most recently, it was said that units of the Russian army were apparently no longer cooperating with the Wagner mercenaries at Bachmut.
CNN wrote on Friday about a “feud” between Prigozhin and Shoigu. The Kremlin admits that the situation in Bakhmut is “difficult”, but: despite the conflicts, unity prevails on the Russian side. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying that he could say one thing: “Yes, it’s actually a pretty emotional situation.” The Russian offensive is very difficult.
Prigozhin accuses Russian troops of fleeing
But all associations fighting for Russia are doing it together and with a common goal, CNN quoted the Russian news agency TASS as saying. Prigozhin had recently claimed that a Russian unit had fled the fighting around Bakhmut.
The Russian defense lines there are “cracking apart” while the Russian general staff “downplays” the situation, Prigozhin said in a video on Friday. The fighting for Bakhmut has been going on for months, and the Wagner mercenaries played a central role on the Russian side.
Started or not: Evidence for offensive vague
It is still unclear when the repeatedly announced counter-offensive by the Ukrainian army will begin, whether everything is just preparation for it or whether it has actually already started. There are almost daily reports of indications of an (imminent) start.
On Friday, pro-Kremlin military correspondent Sascha Kots reported that Kiev had already started its offensive. As an indication of this, according to the BBC report, he said that columns of low-loaders with western tanks had been sighted on the Kharkov city ring road. According to the ISW, statements like these are an expression of increasing “panic” in Russia over speculation about a Ukrainian counterattack.
The Ukrainian army spokesman Serhiy Cherevatyj reported on Thursday evening that Russian units were trying to stop the further advance of the Ukrainians with massive artillery and air strikes. The intensity of the fighting has increased, said Cherevatyj, according to the Unian agency. On Thursday alone, 165 Russian soldiers were killed and another 216 wounded, he claimed. His information could not be verified, nor could that of the other party.
Enerhoatom boss: No need to fight for nuclear power plants
According to the operator, the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant could be spared a Ukrainian counter-offensive. The head of the Ukrainian nuclear company Enerhoatom, Petro Kotin, told CNN that it was enough to cut off the Russian occupying forces in the power plant from the rear. “All we have to do is cut the connection between the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant and Crimea,” says Kotin.
That will be achieved as soon as the Ukrainian troops have captured the city of Melitopol, a good 90 kilometers south-east of the power plant in Enerhodar. After that, the Russian troops would only have the option of fleeing or surrendering. The six-block largest nuclear power plant in Europe in Enerhodar was occupied immediately after the Russian invasion last year.
Waiting for more arms shipments
Selenskyj only dampened expectations on Thursday that the counter-offensive could begin soon. Equipment is still missing for this, he said in a BBC interview. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken promised further arms deliveries “if there are gaps and deficiencies”. The Ukrainian side should announce this, “and we will do everything we can to fulfill it,” Blinken told the US television station PBS, according to the Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform.
Zelenskyj will travel to Western Europe again at the weekend. President Sergio Mattarella will receive him in Rome on Saturday, as confirmed by the Presidential Palace on Friday. It is Zelenskyj’s first visit to Italy since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine in February 2022. He may also travel to Germany at the weekend. But that is not confirmed.
For the first time since the start of the Ukraine war, China has sent a high-ranking diplomat to Kiev for talks. The Beijing Foreign Ministry said Friday that Eurasia Affairs Special Envoy Li Hui will visit Ukraine, Poland, Germany, France and Russia starting Monday to discuss a political settlement to the conflict. The visit of a Chinese representative to relevant countries shows that China is committed to promoting peace and talks, Beijing said.
No video message at Song Contest
There will be no video message from Selenskyi as part of the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) – so as not to further politicize the show, as it was said on Friday. The Ukrainian head of state allegedly wanted to address the viewers with a video message at the ESC final in Liverpool on Saturday.
But the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) spoke out against it. Zelenskyy has “laudable intentions” but his request “regrettably” violates the rules, the EBU said. In Kiev, Zelenskyy’s spokesman denied on Facebook that the presidential office had approached the EBU with such a request.
Ukraine should actually host this year’s song contest after the Ukrainian band Kalush Orchestra won the competition in 2022. However, the EBU moved the show to the UK, which finished second in 2022 with Sam Ryder, because of Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against the country.
