Russian paramilitary, Ukrainians battle for control of Bakhmut
KYIV, Ukraine — Fierce fighting raged Sunday in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, where a Russian paramilitary leader said Ukrainian forces were defending “every street, every house, every stairwell,” as they waged an increasingly desperate effort to deny Moscow its first significant battlefield success in months.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner private military company, whose forces have helped lead Russia's brutal campaign in Bakhmut, said that Ukrainian troops were “fighting to the last,” denying reports on social media that Ukraine's forces were withdrawing from the key city in the eastern Donetsk region.
“The Armed Forces of Ukraine are not retreating anywhere,” Prigozhin said in a statement posted by one of his companies on Telegram, the social messaging app.
As Russia pours more troops into the battle in eastern Ukraine, its Defense Ministry claimed on Sunday that “offensive operations” had helped its forces gain “more advantageous lines and positions” around Donetsk. But there were growing signs that the bitter fighting was exacting an enormous toll on both sides.
Ukraine's defense minister, Oleksii Reznikov, told a news conference that 500 Russian soldiers were being killed or wounded daily in their drive to take Bakhmut. Ukraine's losses were significantly fewer, he added, without offering details.
It was not possible to independently verify either side's account of the fighting. But Reznikov's tally roughly matched that of U.S. officials, who believe hundreds of Russian soldiers are being killed or injured every day as the Kremlin rushes many more men to the front line.
Since last summer the Kremlin's forces have bombarded Bakhmut, a city that Russia sees as critical to achieving Russian President Vladimir Putin's objective of capturing all of the Donbas, which includes Donetsk and the neighboring Luhansk region.
After losing significant ground to Ukrainian counterattacks last fall, Russia has escalated its campaign in the east, bringing in more troops and intensifying its artillery strikes.