WESTERN PERSPECTIVE
Ukraine says it has retaken territory near embattled eastern city of Bakhmut
Ukrainian military commanders said Friday that their troops had recaptured more territory from Russian forces at the scene of the war’s longest and bloodiest battle, for the eastern city of Bakhmut, but it wasn’t clear if this marked the start of Kyiv’s long-expected counteroffensive.
Russia’s Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said Ukrainian forces had stepped up attacks north of the region while denying speculation by Russian military bloggers that the Kyiv forces had achieved “defense breakthroughs.”
The 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) of territory that Ukrainian forces south of Bakhmut retook this week represented a significant gain and will protect an important supply chain, according to commanders of Ukraine’s 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, a special forces unit that led the attack.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he met with the top military commanders Friday, noting that Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi reported his forces “stopped the enemy and even pushed him back in some directions.”
In his nightly address to the Ukrainian people, Zelenskyy praised his troops and noted the low morale of the Russian forces.
“The occupiers are already mentally prepared for defeat. They have already lost this war in their minds,” he said. “We must push them every day so that their sense of defeat turns into their retreat, their mistakes, their losses.”
In a statement on Telegram on Friday, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar confirmed that Ukrainian forces gained ground around Bakhmut, reiterating statements from military commanders earlier this week.
In Washington, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. has assessed that Bakhmut remains contested territory.
“Ukrainians have not given up their defense of Bakhmut and the Russians haven’t given up their attempts to take Bakhmut,” Kirby said. “Every single day, the lines change back and forth. I mean, sometimes block by block.”
The U.S. maintains that Bakhmut has limited strategic value but that Russia has absorbed an enormous loss of troops and weaponry in the battle for the former salt-mining town that has been grinding on for eight months.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the millionaire owner of Russia’s private military contractor Wagner who is a frequent critic of the Russian military, slammed it again for losing ground around Bakhmut and exposing his forces battling for the city.
In a video statement Friday, Prigozhin mocked the Russian Defense Ministry’s report claiming that its forces regrouped to take more favorable positions, saying they effectively fled and “our flanks are crumbling.”
He warned that the Ukrainian forces have reclaimed key heights around the city and effectively unblocked the key supply link to Bakhmut. Prigozhin again accused the military leadership of refusing to provide sufficient ammunition to Wagner.
“You must immediately stop lying,” Prigozhin said, addressing Russia’s military leaders. “If you fled, you must prepare new defensive lines.”
Prigozhin — who seems to use harsh criticism to pressure the Kremlin for more support and improve his stature — alleged the Defense Ministry’s failure to protect Wagner’s flanks amounted to high treason and could result in a “great tragedy” for Russia.
Apparently denying Prigozhin’s claim of abandonment, Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Russian airborne units are still supporting ground forces to “stop the attempts of the Ukrainian armed forces to counterattack on the flanks.”
The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, explained the spat as being “reflective of increased panic in the Russian information space over speculations about planned Ukrainian counteroffensives.” This indicates increased concern among leaders of Wagner and the Russian Defense Ministry as well as “reflecting Kremlin guidance to avoid downplaying Ukrainian successes,” it said.
Ukrainian military officials have dismissed speculation that the fighting and forward movement in Bakhmut signaled that its anticipated counteroffensive was underway. Zelenskyy said in remarks broadcast Thursday that Kyiv was delaying the campaign because it lacks enough Western weapons. Some saw the comments as designed to keep Russia guessing about Ukraine’s next move.
Addressing the nation Friday evening, Zelenskyy said more arms were coming “to defeat the aggressor and restore peace.”
The territorial gains occurred near the Siversky-Donets canal, between the villages of Ivanivske and Kurdiumivka, according to a commander of the 1st Assault Battalion of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade. He spoke on condition he be referred to only by his call sign of “Rollo,” in line with Ukrainian military protocol.
“This was the enemy’s bridgehead, which they intended to use in their future attacks along the canal, in the direction of Kostiantynivka,” he said. “We had to neutralize the enemy and push them to the other side of the canal.”
Another commander and a military spokesman corroborated his account.
Kostiantynivka is part of an important logistics chain that leads to the city of Kramatorsk.
Rollo said the gains followed other successes, including one that secured an access road near Khromove, north of Bakhmut, and another that allowed Ukrainian forces to reclaim lost positions in the Industrial College inside Bakhmut city.
The assault south of Bakhmut was followed by a reported increase in Ukrainian offensive actions near the city of Soledar on Thursday, Russia’s Defense Ministry said. Russia repelled 26 Ukrainian attacks carried out by over 1,000 soldiers, the ministry said, adding that up to 40 tanks were involved.
The slow and grinding fight for Bakhmut has been costly for both sides, with Ukraine seeking to deny Russia any territorial gains despite its marginal strategic significance. Ukrainian forces are stationed in the city, while Russian troops are attacking from the north, east and south.
In other fighting, at least two people were killed and 22 injured elsewhere in the country since Thursday, according to figures from the Ukrainian President’s Office.
Donetsk Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said a Russian strike hit Kramatorsk, where some Ukrainian military units are based, destroying a school and residential building. Russian shelling hit 11 cities and villages in the region, killing 12 civilians, he said.
RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE
Zelensky ‘will end up like Hitler’ – ex-Russian president
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky could suffer the same fate as Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has claimed. The comments came in response to Zelensky’s suggestion that Kremlin officials would meet a “sad end.”
“We do not know who will meet which end,” Medvedev wrote on Telegram, before comparing the Ukrainian president to Hitler, who committed suicide during the final stages of World War II as Soviet troops stormed Berlin.
The former Russian leader also accused Zelensky of “wishing death to everyone in the Kremlin.”
His remarks came in response to an interview published by the BBC on Friday, in which Zelensky stated: “Believe me, those in the Kremlin… it will end badly for them.”
The Ukrainian president expressed his desire for the rapid demise of the current Russian leadership, claiming that they “will certainly not die a natural death.”
The interview with Zelensky comes less than two weeks after a drone attack on the Kremlin, which Moscow described as an assassination attempt against President Vladimir Putin and an act of terrorism. The Russian leader was not at the Kremlin at the time of the incident.
Russia accused Kiev of orchestrating the attack and said it reserves the right to respond as it sees fit. Ukraine denied any involvement in the incident, although the attack prompted Medvedev to call for the “physical removal” of Zelensky.
Kiev’s intelligence chief, Kirill Budanov, later vowed to “keep killing Russians anywhere” until Ukraine’s “complete victory.” The Kremlin branded the statement “truly heinous,” and said it was confirmation that Kiev was involved in orchestrating terrorist attacks.
** Kiev attempts 26 attacks in Soledar area, all of them repelled, Russian top brass reports
The Ukrainian military attempted over 20 attacks along the 95 km engagement line in the Soledar tactical area, with all the offensives repelled by Russian forces, Russia’s Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov reported on Friday.
"The Ukrainian army units attempted 26 attacks that involved over 1,000 personnel, up to 40 tanks and also other military and special equipment. All the attacks by the Ukrainian army were repelled. There were no breakthroughs of Russian defensive lines," the spokesman said.
Russian forces neutralize Ukrainian subversive group in Kupyansk area
Russian forces destroyed over 60 Ukrainian troops and neutralized an enemy subversive group in the Kupyansk area over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"In the Kupyansk direction, aircraft and artillery from the western battlegroup struck the enemy units in areas near the settlements of Dvurechnoye in the Kharkov Region and Novosyolovskoye in the Lugansk People’s Republic. In addition, the activity of a subversive/reconnaissance group was thwarted near the settlement of Kotlyarovka in the Kharkov Region at night," the spokesman said.
The enemy’s losses in that area in the past 24 hours totaled "over 60 Ukrainian personnel, an armored combat vehicle, two motor vehicles, two Grad multiple rocket launchers, a US-made M109 Paladin artillery system and an Akatsiya motorized artillery gun," the general specified.
Russian forces destroy over 75 Ukrainian troops in Krasny Liman area
Russian forces destroyed over 75 Ukrainian troops and a motorized artillery gun in the Krasny Liman area over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"In the Krasny Liman direction, operational/tactical and army aviation and artillery from the battlegroup Center struck Ukrainian manpower and equipment near the settlement of Torskoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic," the spokesman said.
The strikes eliminated over 75 Ukrainian troops, three armored combat vehicles, three pickup trucks, an Akatsiya motorized artillery gun and a D-20 howitzer in that area in the past 24 hours, the general specified.
Ukraine’s military suffers 900 casualties in Donetsk area in past day
Russian forces killed and wounded about 900 Ukrainian troops in the Donetsk area over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"In all, the enemy’s losses in the Donetsk area amounted to about 900 Ukrainian troops killed and wounded, over 30 pieces of armor, and also seven motor vehicles, two D-30 howitzers and a UK-made L118 howitzer," the spokesman said.
Russian forces gain new positions in Donetsk area
Russian forces gained a new frontier in the Maloilyinovka area to take advantage of the Berkhovskoye reservoir as they continued their combat operations in the Donetsk People’s Republic over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"In the Maloilyinovka direction, units of the southern battlegroup gained a frontier, considering the advantageous conditions of the Berkhovskoye reservoir to increase defense stability. The personnel of the 4th and 200th motorized infantry brigades, the crews of army aviation and other units of the Russian Armed Forces showed courage repelling enemy attacks," the spokesman said.
Over 540 Ukrainian troops, eight tanks and more than 20 pieces of other enemy armor were destroyed in the Maloilyinovka direction in the past 24 hours, the general reported.
Russian air defenses down Ukrainian Su-27 fighter jet in DPR
Russian air defense forces shot down a Ukrainian Su-27 fighter jet near the settlement of Chasov Yar in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"Air defense capabilities shot down a Ukrainian Air Force Su-27 fighter in the area of the settlement of Chasov Yar in the Donetsk People’s Republic," the spokesman said.
In addition, Russian forces destroyed an artillery ammunition depot of the Ukrainian army’s 110th mechanized brigade, the general said.
Russian forces destroy 110 Ukrainian troops in southern Donetsk, Zaporozhye areas
Russian forces destroyed roughly 110 Ukrainian troops in the southern Donetsk and Zaporozhye areas over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
In the southern Donetsk and Zaporozhye directions, aircraft and artillery of Russia’s battlegroup East struck the enemy units in areas near the settlements of Vodyanoye and Ugledar in the Donetsk People’s Republic, the spokesman specified.
"The enemy’s losses totaled 110 Ukrainian personnel, a tank, two motor vehicles and a Gvozdika motorized artillery gun," the general specified.
Russian forces destroy 40 Ukrainian troops, artillery gun in Kherson area
Russian forces destroyed roughly 40 Ukrainian troops and a motorized artillery system in the Kherson area over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"In the Kherson direction, as many as 40 Ukrainian personnel, an armored combat vehicle, three motor vehicles and an Akatsiya self-propelled artillery system were destroyed in the past 24 hours as a result of damage inflicted by firepower," the spokesman said.
Russian forces eliminate two Ukrainian subversive groups in LPR
Russian forces eliminated two Ukrainian subversive groups in the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"At night, two subversive/reconnaissance groups were eliminated in areas near the settlements of Chervonaya Dibrova and Kremennaya in the Lugansk People’s Republic," the spokesman said.
Russian forces wipe out Ukrainian army’s fuel depot near Zaporozhye city
Russian forces destroyed a fuel depot of the Ukrainian army near the city of Zaporozhye over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"In the area of the city of Zaporozhye, a depot storing fuel for Ukrainian military hardware was destroyed. Near the settlement of Borovaya in the Kharkov Region, a US-made AN/TPQ-36 counter-battery radar was obliterated. Also, a Ukrainian Zoopark-1 reconnaissance and fire control radar was destroyed near the settlement of Nikopol in the Dnepropetrovsk Region," the spokesman said.
In the past 24 hours, operational/tactical and army aviation and artillery of the Russian group of forces struck 72 Ukrainian artillery units at firing positions, manpower and military equipment in 102 areas, the general reported.
Russian air defenses destroy 25 Ukrainian combat drones in past day
Russian air defense forces intercepted three rockets of the HIMARS and Uragan multiple launch rocket systems and destroyed 25 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"During the last 24-hour period, air defense capabilities intercepted three rockets of the HIMARS and Uragan multiple launch rocket systems. In addition, they destroyed 25 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles in areas near the settlements of Krivosheyevka and Kremennaya in the Lugansk People’s Republic, Belogorovka, Avdeyevka and Chasov Yar in the Donetsk People’s Republic, Kamenskoye, Tokmak and Pologi in the Zaporozhye Region, Golaya Pristan and Zburyevka in the Kherson Region," the spokesman said.
In all, the Russian Armed Forces have destroyed 422 Ukrainian combat aircraft, 230 helicopters, 4,099 unmanned aerial vehicles, 421 surface-to-air missile systems, 9,108 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 1,100 multiple rocket launchers, 4,796 field artillery guns and mortars and 10,141 special military motor vehicles since the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine, Konashenkov reported.
AP/RT/Tass