Fierce fighting is raging in eastern Ukraine. Wagner's mercenary group has been firing on Bachmut for months. President Zelenskyy admits that the situation in the city is "the most difficult" in the country. However, his army is not giving up on them just yet.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian soldiers in the hard-fought town of Bakhmut are holding their positions despite the "most difficult" situation on the ground. It is not without reason that the "Bakhmut Fortress" is spoken of, said Zelenskyj in Kiev at a press conference with the Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. "And our fortress is alive."
The situation in Bakhmut in the east of the country is currently "the most difficult" in the country, Zelenskyy admitted and named Wuhledar south of Bakhmut as another critical location. According to their own statements, Russian forces had advanced on both places in the Donetsk region in the past few days.
Many experts agree that conquering Bakhmut, which was badly hit by attacks, would have almost no strategic relevance for the course of the war. It would have a primarily symbolic meaning. Since January, the Russian army, supported by the notorious mercenary group Wagner, has been stepping up its tenacious seven-month offensive on the eastern Ukrainian city.
But even the head of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigoschin, admitted on Tuesday that there would be no victory celebrations in Bakhmut in the foreseeable future due to the "violent resistance" of the Ukrainians.
Meanwhile, Sweden's Prime Minister Kristersson continued to pledge his full support to Ukraine. He did not expressly rule out the delivery of combat aircraft, but emphasized that this would only be possible within the framework of an "international coalition".
The situation has also "deteriorated" in the province of Luhansk, which borders Donetsk, according to governor Serhiy Hajdaj. This applies in particular to the towns of Kreminna and Bilohorivka, on which Russia repeatedly flies airstrikes.
A residential building was hit in attacks on Pokrovsk, a city farther east from the front line, on Wednesday morning. According to the Ukrainian rescue workers, at least one person was killed and twelve others were injured. According to the authorities, at least two other people were still buried.
