Zelinsky: Fierce battles are taking place in the vicinity of Bakhmut

In his daily evening video message, Zelensky said, “The greatest difficulties are, as before, in Bakhmut. Russia does not count its men.”
Absolutely, it sends them to attack our sites non-stop. The battles never cease to rage.”

And the Ukrainian ground forces had announced the dispatch of additional reinforcements in Bakhmut in the Donetsk region to repel the attempts of the Russian forces to control the city.

Bakhmut under siege

Over the past two days, the political and military leadership in Ukraine has acknowledged the difficult situation in Bakhmut, while local leaders in Donetsk said that the city is under fire siege.

And the latest confessions about the difficult situation in Bakhmut were issued by the commander of the Ukrainian ground forces, who said that the situation in the city is “very tense”, and “Wagner” forces are trying to tighten the cordon around the city.

For his part, the pro-Moscow local commander in Donetsk, Denis Pushilin, said in a statement to the Russian Channel One, that the Russian forces are applying a fire siege to almost all entrances to Bakhmut.

“In practice, almost all roads are in the crosshairs,” said Pushilin, who holds the position of president of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, according to RIA Novosti.

At the same time, Pushilin stressed that Kiev continues to send its forces in this direction.

Wagner amidst Bakhmut

And Russian news and reports from the pro-Moscow local authorities in Donetsk revealed that the fighters of the “Wagner” group are now in the center of Bakhmut.

The local leader in Donetsk, Igor Kimakovsky, or what is described as “adviser to the acting president of the Donetsk People’s Republic, Denis Pushilin,” stated that the fighters of the “Wagner” group are now fighting in the center of Artyomovsk, which is the Russian name for the city of Bakhmut.

Kimakovsky indicated that the Russian forces control all the roads leading to the city, adding that the forward factions of the Wagner Group are already fighting in the center of Artyomovsk, according to statements he made to the Russian agency “Sputnik”.

Kimakovsky explained that it was still too early to talk about encircling Bakhmut, but noted that the Ukrainian forces are trying to send support to the city, “but they are suffering heavy losses.”

Bakhmut, in the part controlled by Ukrainian forces, is located north of the large city of Gorlovka, and is an important transportation hub for supplying Ukrainian forces in Donbass.