According to British intelligence, Russian forces are unlikely to achieve a “significant breakthrough” in the struggle for control of Bakhmut.
“There is a real possibility that Russia will continue to make local gains in the (Bakhmut) sector,” reads the latest Defense Ministry update.
“However, it is unlikely that Russia has enough free troops in the area to achieve an operationally important breakthrough.”
It says Russian forces have likely been carrying out strikes around the Ukrainian cities of Pavlovka and Vuhledar over the past three days and may be seeking to develop a new offensive line towards Donetsk.
Last night, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that Russian troops fired at a dozen settlements in the Bakhmut direction in a day.
Both sides regard Bakhmut and its neighboring villages as critical to victory on the Eastern Front.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said last night that Russia had launched a “great revenge” for Ukraine’s resistance to its invasion as Russian forces announced a series of incremental gains in his country’s east.
“I think Russia really wants its big revenge. I think they (already) started it,” Zelensky said. “Every day they either bring in more of their regular troops, or we see an increase in the number of Wagnerians. he told reporters in the southern port city of Odessa.
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