Russia sends its strongest troops to Bakhmut, Ukraine tries its best to hold the Eastern fortress

Nga dồn quân mạnh nhất đến Bakhmut, Ukraine dốc sức giữ pháo đài miền Đông - 1 — Ukrainian soldiers fight in Bakhmut (Photo: Reuters).

"Russia is concentrating its largest force in Bakhmut and wants to take full control of the city. However, the Ukrainian defense forces are holding back the enemy's offensive in fierce battles, causing them significant losses," General Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, announced on April 19.

General Syrskyi affirmed that Bakhmut remains the "focus" of Russia's attack as the battle for the eastern Ukrainian city shows no signs of stopping.

Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said that Russian losses in the city of Bakhmut were many times higher than Ukrainian losses, admitting that Russian troops had entered some areas of the city.

“The enemy is making every effort to take control of the city. They are not only concentrating their main professional units there – Wagner, special forces, air strikes – they are also bringing weapons and equipment there,” Maliar said in an interview with Ukraine’s state television on April 19.

"They cannot fight us in the streets because they will lose, so they have deployed the tactics they used in Syria and are clearing buildings. In such a situation, it is very difficult to hold positions. In fact, it is impossible to hold them in such a situation. So in some areas, the enemy has advanced a little bit more," Ms. Maliar admitted.

However, according to the Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine, the advance in Bakhmut caused great losses to Russian forces.

“For Russia, this is probably one of the most expensive operations, because they have spent a lot of equipment and weapons, and they have been destroyed on a large scale by the Ukrainian armed forces. They are suffering huge losses there. These losses are many times larger than our losses,” Maliar added.

Ms. Maliar said that pushing back Russian forces in Bakhmut was an important task, not only because of the losses that Ukraine could inflict on Moscow, but also because of the goal of preventing the Russian army from advancing further.

"This is a very important defensive operation not only for this region, but also important in the context of the enemy advancing deeper into Ukrainian territory," the Ukrainian defense official emphasized.

According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in addition to Bakhmut, the fiercest fighting is taking place along the Donetsk front in Lyman, Avdiivka and Mariinka.

"In the Lyman area, northeast of Bakhmut, the enemy launched unsuccessful attacks near the southern outskirts of Kreminna. In the Mariinka area, our defense forces repelled several enemy attacks in Mariinka and Pobieda," the Ukrainian military added.

Ukraine confirmed that Russian forces have made no progress in the military operation in the city of Avdiivka, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited on April 18. Avdiivka is also known as "the second Bakhmut" due to the fierceness of the fighting there.

The frontline town of Avdiivka in the Donetsk region has been one of the most tense battlefields on the eastern front in recent times. According to the Office of the President of Ukraine, the city of Avdiivka is surrounded by Russian troops from three directions.

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