In detail, the founder of the Wagner forces, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said in a message on Telegram that his men advanced up to 550 meters in some directions on Saturday and controlled a total area of ​​land in the city of ‘Artyomovsk (Bakhmut), which amounted to 216,000 square meters.
Prigozhin added that Ukrainian forces control less than 1.75 square kilometers of the city and out of 48 multi-storey buildings, only 29 buildings are used by the enemy as hiding places.
According to Russia Today, artillery units of Wagner’s forces and personnel assigned to Bakhmut filled a gap in the Berkovsky Dam area to cover the flanks until they took control of the entire town.
On Friday, Wagner’s forces announced that they had advanced 400 square meters to Bakhmut on the right side.
Prigozhin said: “The forces of the private military company, Wagner, advanced 400 meters, and the controlled area reached 132,000 square meters.”
“Less than 2 square kilometers of the city remains under the control of Ukrainian forces,” added the founder of Wagner.
For its part, the Russian Ministry of Defense indicated, in its latest bulletin, that Russian forces had taken control of another area of ​​the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, which Moscow has been trying to control for more than 10 months in a battle of attrition with the artillery. .
“The units of the Airborne Forces provided support to the offensive units and attacked the enemy from the sides,” he added.
Ukrainian advance in the vicinity of Bakhmut
Hana Malyar, Ukraine’s deputy defense minister, said on Saturday that Ukrainian forces are advancing in two directions in the eastern town of Bakhmut, but the situation in the city center is more complicated.
Russia admitted on Friday that its forces had withdrawn north of Bakhmut ahead of a counter-offensive that Ukraine had long pledged to retake more territory it lost after the war began last year. last.
“Our forces are gradually advancing in two directions through the outskirts of Bakhmut…but the situation in the town itself is more complicated,” Maliar wrote on Telegram.
“Thanks to the effective planning of the leadership and the courage of our fighters, the enemy could not take control of the city,” he added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on an official visit to Rome, did not respond directly when asked when the counterattack would begin.
“I can’t answer that question, but you will see the results and Russia will feel them,” he told Italian television.
Russia: British “Storm Shadow” used in Lugansk
Separately, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday that Ukrainian planes bombed two industrial sites in the Russian-held city of Luhansk in eastern Ukraine with long-range cruise missiles. “Storm Shadow”, or “Storm Shadow”. , obtained from Great Britain.
Reuters could not verify reports from the battlefield.
Britain on Thursday became the first country to say it had started supplying long-range cruise missiles to Kiev, which would allow it to strike Russian forces and resupply depots far from the front lines as it that she is preparing for a major counter-attack.
British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said the missiles could be used inside Ukrainian territory, meaning he had received assurances from Kiev that he would not use the missiles to attack targets within Russia’s internationally recognized borders.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the missiles hit a polymer production plant and a meat processing plant in Lugansk on Friday.
“Storm Shadow air-to-air missiles supplied by Britain to the Kiev regime were used in the strike, contrary to statements from London that these weapons will not be used against civilian targets,” the ministry added.
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