Ukraine's renewed offensive on Bakhmut... "Significant losses for nearby Russian forces"

Russian Mercenary Group Wagner Leaves
Zelensky: "Ready for Major Counteroffensive"

As a Ukrainian counteroffensive looms, the commander of Ukraine's ground forces revealed that Russia is suffering "significant losses" in battles near Bakhmut, the eastern frontline hotspot.

According to the US CNN broadcast on the 3rd (local time), Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of Ukraine's ground forces, posted a message on Telegram after visiting frontline units, stating, "The enemy continues to suffer significant losses in the direction of Bakhmut," and added, "Our forces will keep fighting and will win." This is interpreted as Ukraine gaining the upper hand over Russian forces as it intensifies its counteroffensive toward Bakhmut.

A Ukrainian soldier is firing a French-made mortar towards Russian positions near the front line close to Bakhmut in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Syrskyi's remarks came just one day after Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Russian private mercenary group Wagner Group, which recently barely captured Bakhmut, announced on the 2nd that he handed over the city to the Russian regular army and that 99% of his forces had withdrawn. Bakhmut is the place where the Wagner Group, after enduring a war of attrition since July last year, declared full control on the 20th of last month.

While some have assessed that Bakhmut's strategic value is not significant, the intense war of attrition caused by Russia's large-scale offensive has made it symbolically important to both countries, making it impossible for either side to give up. Even after retreating from Bakhmut, Ukraine has occupied surrounding high ground and sought opportunities to encircle the city. For this reason, Western experts have speculated that it may be difficult for the Russian regular army to maintain control of Bakhmut after the Wagner Group's withdrawal. Prigozhin, who has been in conflict with the Russian military leadership, recently stated in a video that if the regular army cannot control the situation locally, the Wagner Group is ready to return to Bakhmut.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with the US daily The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) released on the 3rd that Ukraine is ready to launch a counteroffensive operation against Russia. However, he added, "I don't know how long it will take," and frankly said, "It could go in completely different and various ways."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.