Russians tactically cannot complete operation to capture Bakhmut – Cherevatyi

Fierce battles are ongoing near Bakhmut, but Russian forces are suffering huge losses there.

Serhiy Cherevatyi, spokesman for the Eastern Group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said this during a nationwide telethon, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"As to the Lyman-Kupiansk direction, it has been the record holder for artillery shelling in recent weeks, and the past day was no exception. The enemy launched 442 strikes using various artillery systems... Here, the enemy uses armored vehicles more," he said.

According to Cherevatyi, over the past day, Ukrainian military destroyed one enemy infantry fighting vehicle, two small and medium armored trucks, three mortars, and two ammunition depots.

“(The enemy - ed.) attacked our positions 35 times. In particular, in the Bakhmut direction alone, they launched 73 strikes and 25 attempted attacks. As for the settlements, these are the northern part of Bakhmut itself, Orikhovo-Vasylivka, Hryhorivka, and Bohdanivka. In these battles, the enemy lost 96 occupiers killed and 153 (Russian soldiers - ed.) received injuries of various degrees," he said.

When asked whether there are signs that the Russians' major offensive is starting to wind down and that they may stop at certain areas of the front in Bakhmut, Cherevatyi noted that it is probably difficult to call today's Russian actions a major offensive.

According to him, before the start of the full-scale war, the Russian armed forces had been considered as supposedly large armed forces, with great capabilities, while now, in fact, they cannot tactically complete the operation to capture the Ukrainian district center of Bakhmut.

As Ukrinform reported, according to the General Staff, the enemy continues attempts to break through the defense of Ukrainian troops in the Kupiansk and Lyman directions. In the Bakhmut direction, units of the Defense Forces repelled numerous enemy attacks in the northern part of Bakhmut city, as well as in the areas of Orikhovo-Vasylivka, Hryhorivka, and Bohdanivka settlements.