Russia seems to have started the expected major offensive in eastern Ukraine. Heavy artillery shelling is reported from the suburbs of Bakhmut in particular. Aid organizations and civilians are no longer allowed into the city because of the security situation.
Shortly before the first anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine, Russia on Monday launched heavy artillery fire at the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed local officials' assessment that Russia's new major offensive had begun. President Vladimir Putin is now sending "thousands and thousands more troops" and accepting a very high number of casualties, Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels.
The governors of Luhansk and Donetsk recently announced that the offensive was under way. "Preparations for this offensive are already underway, shelling, airstrikes and small group attacks have already increased. We are waiting for them to start massive round-the-clock attacks," Haidai said.
Bakhmut, which has been fought over for months, now seems to be surrounded on three sides by regular Russian troops and Wagner mercenaries. According to the Ukrainian military, there are house-to-house fighting in two districts. The only road through which Ukrainian forces still have access to the city is under Russian fire. Civilians and volunteers are no longer allowed into the city because of the increased danger. Apparently, the Ukrainian army can no longer secure the work of aid organizations in parts of Bakhmut that were previously considered relatively safe, writes the New York Times. The newspaper speculates that the access ban could indicate an impending withdrawal by the Ukrainians.
The spokesman for the Ukrainian military command for the east of the country, Serhii Cherevatyi, however, emphasized that a turning point had not been reached and that the city was still "under Ukrainian control". Bachmut is the "epicenter of the enemy attack" and therefore the situation is "critical". The Russian forces are currently sending smaller units into the city, but they have not yet gained a foothold there, Cherevatyi continued.
According to the Reuters news agency, Volodymir Nazarenko from the Ukrainian Svoboda Battalion also said that there had been no fighting in the center of Bakhmut so far. The outskirts and suburbs, on the other hand, are under "insane, chaotic fire." In the city center, the defenders are prepared for attacks: "The city is a fortress, every position and every street there, almost every building is a fortress".
The Russian Defense Ministry said it took Krasna Gora, a suburb north of Bakhmut, on Monday. The day before, the Wagner group had declared via Telegram that they had taken control of the place.
The capture of Bakhmut would have more than symbolic significance for the Kremlin: taking control of the city would cut off Ukrainian supply lines in the region. It would also open up the main road to two other cities to the east, Kramatorsk and Slowiansk, for Russian troops.
