Ukraine Repels Attacks 'Around the Clock' Near Bakhmut: Military
© ARIS MESSINIS/AFP; ARIS MESSINIS/AFP
Smoke is pictured on the left rising in an area near Bakhmut, Ukraine following a Russian shelling on the left, while Ukrainian soldiers are shown on the right outside a shelter in the city on March 22, 2023. The Ukrainian military said on Wednesday that Russian attacks in the area were being repelled "around the clock."
Russian attacks are being repelled "around the clock" near Bakhmut, according to the Ukrainian military.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in Facebook post on Wednesday that the "offensive potential" of Russia was "decreasing" despite the continual attacks on Bakhmut and the rest of Donetsk—one of the four Ukrainian regions that Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed to have annexed for Russia last year.
"The enemy continues to conduct offensive actions, but its offensive potential is decreasing," the post states. "The enemy does not stop trying to capture the city, losing a significant amount of manpower, weapons and military equipment."
"Our defenders repel numerous enemy attacks around the clock in the areas of Bakhmut, Bohdanivka and Predtechine settlements," it continues, while adding that multiple settlements, including Bakhmut, had been hit by "enemy shelling."
Ukraine's Ministry of Defense also shared to Twitter on Wednesday a short video of soldiers in Bakhmut saying, "glory to Ukraine," accompanied by a message insisting that victory is on the way.
"Bakhmut holds," the tweet says. "We are standing our ground. We are protecting our land. We will win. Glory to Ukraine!"
The battle for Bakhmut has been a focal point of the war for more than half of the 13-month conflict. Although the city alone is believed to hold little strategic value, its symbolic importance has become massive, with some experts arguing that its fate could decide the outcome of the war.
Despite Russia's recent heightened effort to capture the settlement, U.S.-based think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said Moscow had made no "confirmed gains in or around Bakhmut" on Tuesday.
ISW reported that Russia had made some "marginal gains" in the area on Monday, possibly aided by an onslaught of cruise missile attacks.
Former Ukrainian infrastructure minister Volodymyr Omelyan previously told Newsweek that fighting in the area remains "intense" and "exhausting," with Ukrainian and Russian forces having "no alternative" but to fight to the death.
An intelligence update from the U.K. Ministry of Defense on Wednesday morning stated that "there is a realistic possibility that the Russian assault on the town is losing the limited momentum it had obtained."
Also on Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky conducted a personal tour of the war's front lines, including a visit to "wounded warriors" stationed near Bakhmut.
"It is an honor for me to support our warriors who are defending the country in the toughest front-line conditions," Zelenksy said during his nightly televised address. "Thanks to each and every one of them who is fighting against Russian evil."
The Ukrainian president went on to say that there was "no subject in the world who does not feel" that "Russia will lose this war," adding "every Russian murderer should understand that an arrest warrant is the best thing that can happen to them."
The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin last week, accusing him of committing war crimes by forcibly deporting children from Ukraine, although the chances of him actually being arrested and prosecuted are likely remote.
Newsweek has reached out via email to the Russian Ministry of Defense for comment.
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