« Reply #2667 on: May 11, 2023, 11:43:50 am »
Interesting news this morning from Bakhmut. Seems that that Ukrainians caught the Russian 72nd Brigade in the middle of a troop rotation, attacked, and routed it, blowing a hole through the southwestern lines, flanking Wagner, and threatening a cutoff at a canal bridgehead. Might be the start of another Izium-Lyman style skedaddle if what Prigozhin says is true and not panicky hyperbole.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/05/10/world/russia-ukraine-news?smid=url-share#ukrainian-troops-break-through-a-russian-flank-near-bakhmut-officials-sayUkrainian military commanders said on Wednesday that their troops had broken through Russian positions on the southern flank of the embattled eastern city of Bakhmut, forcing Russian units back from their positions at an important bridgehead of a canal.
Ukrainian officials and the head of Russia’s Wagner militia group said that Russian troops had lost an area of roughly three square miles southwest of the city. If confirmed, it would be the first significant gain for Ukraine in the fight for Bakhmut since pushing Russian forces off a key access road two months ago, although it was far from clear that Ukrainian forces could hold the ground or that it was a turning point in the monthslong battle.
The fighting around the city did not seem to be part of a broader counteroffensive that Kyiv has said will begin soon, but came amid an uptick in Ukrainian strikes behind Russian lines and reports of increased attacks in Russian regions bordering Ukraine. The Ukrainian operation near Bakhmut hit Russian Army troops as they were rotating into position and was an opportunistic strike on a weak link in the Russian front, Ukrainian military officers said.
Russia’s Defense Ministry has not commented on the reports.
The Ukrainians said they broke through Russian lines in an area of fields, ravines and thickets of trees to the southwest of Bakhmut. Ukrainian commanders said several units — including the Azov soldiers in the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, a special forces unit; the Adam Tactical Group; and the Ukrainian Volunteer Army, a group that includes civilian volunteers — had carried out the attack.
Andriy Biletsky, a commander of the Ukrainian 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, said in a video statement released in the early hours of Wednesday morning that his troops had seized Russian positions and inflicted heavy losses on Russian troops. Two Russian companies, units typically with about 100 soldiers each, and a reconnaissance team had been “completely destroyed” in the fighting, he said.
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« Last Edit: May 11, 2023, 11:47:03 am by Timber Rattler »
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