All signs of enemy exhaustion in Bakhmut area - Ukraine army spox

Serhiy Cherevatyi, the spokesman for the Eastern Group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said this on the air of the national telethon, Ukrinform reports with reference to Armyinform.

"In the past day alone, 40 firefights took place here, as a result of which 190 occupiers were killed, 244 were wounded, and 15 were captured. Three tanks, an infantry fighting vehicle, three Msta-B howitzers, and five ammunition depots were also destroyed. This indicates that our defense operation continues successfully, the enemy is being exhausted, bleeding out. Wagner has failed to meet any of their deadlines as Bakhmut has not been captured," Cherevatyi said.

According to the spokesman, it does not help the enemy that the units of the Wagner terrorist-criminal group, worn out and defeated in battles, are being replaced by Russia’s regular troops, motorized rifle and airborne assault units. After all, they are mostly staffed by mobilized soldiers who have extremely low motivation, and the gains made by Ukraine’s forces affect their confidence and motivation even more.

"As a result of successful combat operations in various directions, the enemy was defeated and pushed back to a distance ranging from 250 meters to 1.5 kilometers — Bakhmut is holding on, and our defenders are destroying the enemy and chasing them down in some areas," Cherevatyi concluded.

As reported, Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Maliar reported that the Armed Forces advanced two kilometers toward Bakhmut, while losing no defense positions in town this week.