Ukrainian forces determinedly maintain a grip on a tiny section of the city of Bakhmut to deny the Russian invaders their desperately wanted victory. But the Ukrainians are not limiting themselves to defense. According to Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Ukrainian troops are advancing on the flanks in the suburbs of the Donetsk region’s Bakhmut and are close to tactically encircling the city.
Meanwhile, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed at the G7 summit, that the city has not yet fallen, but compared the utter destruction of the city to that of Hiroshima, which is hosting the meeting of the G7 leaders.
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According to Syrskyi, Ukrainian forces now control only a small part of Bakhmut, but maintaining a grip on that section of the city is important should the situation reverse, as it would allow the Ukrainians to immediately re-enter Bakhmut. That is not all, however.
“We continue advancing on the flanks in the suburbs of Bakhmut and are actually close to tactically encircling the city,” Syrskyi said. “Thanks to this, we will be able to control all high-rise buildings seized by the enemy and gradually decimate them. This deprives the enemy of control over the approaches to the city and gives us certain tactical benefits.”
“The situation is challenging but controlled,” he added.
According to a statement made by the 3rd Independent Assault Brigade on Sunday, the day before the unit has managed to advance by 700 metres and inflicted casualties against the Russians.
“The 3rd Independent Assault Brigade continues to eject the occupiers from their positions near Bakhmut,” reads a statement on the unit’s Facebook page. The Brigade assess that “a further 700 meters have been cleared from the enemy.”
“During the attempt to recapture the positions earlier taken over by Ukrainian soldiers, units of the 72nd brigade of the armed forces of the Russian Federation have been routed,” the statement said. Russian losses are assessed at 23 killed and more than 40 wounded. Additionally, equipment, including tanks, have been destroyed.
Ukrainian Defense Deputy Minister Hanna Maliar stated earlier that the Russians had failed to surround the city and have now lost part of the heights that surround it.
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Ukraine’s Hiroshima
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, who is attending the meeting of G7 leaders in Hiroshima, has laid flowers at the cenotaph commemorating the victims of the world’s first atomic bomb.
“I’ll tell you openly: Photographs of ruined Hiroshima absolutely remind me of Bakhmut and other similar settlements,” he later told reporters.
“Nothing left alive, all the buildings ruined,” Zelenskyy added.
All the while Kremlin’s website published a statement by Russian dictator Putin, who hailed his forces supposed victory Bakhmut, describing it as a “liberation”.
“We have a very complicated neighbor – a criminal and a terrorist, a complicated enemy. But we are keeping on, fighting thanks to the courage of our people and our warriors. And thanks to our cleverness,” Zelenskyy said at a press conference.
“We are not throwing people to die. For us, people are treasure. This is the most important we have,” he said, contrasting the Ukrainian approach to waging war to that of Moscow.
He said that while he cannot share the data and tactics of the Ukrainian military, “we see today that the country that is ten times larger than us cannot occupy us, cannot win this war.”
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100,000 Russian invaders killed and wounded
U.S. President Joe Biden, who is also in Hiroshima as one of the G7 leaders, said Russia has suffered massive losses in the fight for Bakhmut.
“Well, the truth of the matter is the Russians have suffered over 100,000 casualties in Bakhmut,” Biden said. “And that’s hard to make up.”
📹 Russia has lost 100,000 troops in #Bakhmut, US President Joe #Biden said in #Hiroshima. pic.twitter.com/TfB4tfEyzJ
— KyivPost (@KyivPost) May 21, 2023
“Bakhmut. There’s a discussion about whether or not it’s been lost or whatever,” he said.