Ukraine captures 10 enemy positions from besieged Bakhmut

UKRAINE’S military has said that it has captured 10 Russian positions near Bakhmut as it stepped up its counteroffensive around the besieged city.

Its claim followed earlier confirmation from Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Kremlin’s Wagner mercenary group, that Ukrainian forces had captured land on the Russian southern flank and a rare admission from the Russian military that two senior officers had been killed.

Ganna Malyar, Ukrainian deputy defence minister, said on social media: “Today our units have captured more than 10 enemy positions in the northern and southern outskirts of Bakhmut. Enemy soldiers of various units have been captured.”

Ukrainian commanders have been heavily trailing the build-up of a largescale counter-offensive backed by Western weapons for months but despite increasingly desperate statements from Russian officials, they have insisted that they have not yet launched this attack.

Even so, reports from Bakhmut all week, including from Telegraph correspondents near the front line, have reported far heavier artillery barrages than usual, suggesting that a major Ukrainian assault on Russian positions has begun.

The British ministry of defence has also reported that Ukraine’s army forced Russia’s 72nd Rifle Brigade to withdraw in “bad order” from Russia’s southern flank, which Mr Prigozhin has also confirmed.

The Russian ministry of defence has not commented on these reports but it said two colonels attached to different units were killed this week in fighting.

Russian forces, led by Wagner, have slowly captured Bakhmut street-bystreet this year, mainly by sending waves of fighters into contested areas. Ukrainian forces have said that they have been shocked at how callous Russian commanders are, being prepared to so easily sacrifice their men.

Russian forces in Bakhmut are mainly made up of convicts fighting for Wagner in return for freedom, and mobilised men with little training and poor equipment. In its daily intelligence briefing, the British ministry of defence said the Russian army was in no state to defend itself against a highly motivated Ukrainian army. It said: “It is unlikely to be an organisation which will effectively cohere large-scale military effect along the 1,200km (745 miles) front line under stress.”

Ukraine’s ministry of defence has said it was not involved in shooting down Russian military aircraft on Saturday in Russia. It said confused Russian air defence had shot down two fighter jets and three helicopters.