Skip to content
Edit post

UK Defense Ministry: Russia intensifies assault on Bakhmut as Wagner, regular army improve cooperation

by The Kyiv Independent news desk April 14, 2023 11:45 AM 2 min read
Ukrainian soldiers of the 80th brigade firing artillery in the direction of Bakhmut as the Russia-Ukraine war continues in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine on April 13, 2023. (Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
This audio is created with AI assistance

Support independent journalism in Ukraine. Join us in this fight.

Become a member Support us just once

Russia has stepped up its offensive on Donetsk Oblast's Bakhmut as the Russian regular army and paramilitary group Wagner have improved cooperation, the U.K. Defense Ministry reported on April 14.

Ukrainian defenders still hold the western districts of the city, but they have come under particularly intense Russian artillery fire over the past 48 hours, the ministry wrote in its daily intelligence update.

Wagner assault groups reportedly keep conducting the main offensive through the center of Bakhmut, while Russian airborne troops have reinforced some Wagner units on the northern and southern flanks of the operation.

"Ukrainian forces face significant resupply issues but have made orderly withdrawals from the positions they have been forced to concede," concludes the update.

Russia's state-backed private mercenary Wagner Group has been assisting Russia's military in trying to capture Ukraine's eastern city of Bakhmut for the past nine months as Moscow tries to consolidate its grip over the entirety of Donetsk Oblast.

Serhiy Cherevatyi, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian military's Eastern Operational Command, said on April 11 that Wagner mercenaries fighting in Bakhmut would only last two more months if their tactics remained unchanged. He acknowledged that the forecast was subjective, although grounded in the high casualty rates of Wagner troops.

Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar wrote on Feb. 16 that Kremlin-backed private mercenary Wagner Group and Russian proxy units active in eastern Ukraine were losing up to 80% of some assault units.

‘They crawl forward 24/7:’ On the zero line with Ukrainian infantry north of Bakhmut
Climbing to a firing position through trenches dug into black Ukrainian soil, the relative quiet in the air is only reassuring to an extent. At the most forward point, a Soviet-era recoilless rifle stands watch, dug into a shallow depression in the ground. Bohdan, a company comman…

Support independent journalism in Ukraine. Join us in this fight.
Freedom can be costly. Both Ukraine and its journalists are paying a high price for their independence. Support independent journalism in its darkest hour. Support us for as little as $1, and it only takes a minute.
visa masterCard americanExpress

News Feed

Ukraine Daily
News from Ukraine in your inbox
Ukraine news
Please, enter correct email address
4:50 PM

Ukraine, Poland ready to conclude agreement on joint border control.

In the document published following the talks, the parties "confirmed their readiness to conclude an Agreement on providing control at joint border checkpoints and cooperation of control bodies" and, once approved by the European Commission, "to launch logistical data exchange at selected road border crossing points."
11:16 AM

Kuleba begins first trip to India.

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he was in the Indian capital New Delhi at the invitation of Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, and that the two would "pay specific attention to the peace formula" in their talks.
MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.