Ukrainian Forces Continue Bakhmut Advances As Russians Falter

The Russians seem not to have recovered from their devastating losses around Bakhmut in the largeley unsuccessful winter offensive.

The Ukrainians are using to their advantage to take back and hold more high ground around what little is left of the city. The Russians' emotional commitment to the area is giving the Ukrainians an opportunity to distract the Russians from other areas of the front. JL  

Matthew Bigg reports in the New York Times:

Ukraine has made progress around Bakhmut, where some military experts have said that Russia had less time to prepare defensive positions. Ukrainian troops forced Russia to withdraw from positions south of the village of Andriivka, which is around seven miles south of Bakhmut. The Ukrainian update also said that Russia had unsuccessfully tried to recover lost ground north and west of Klishchiivka, a Russian-held village whose elevation makes it valuable to artillery units.

THE BATTLE: Ukrainian forces are trying to claw back territory lost to Moscow around the eastern city of Bakhmut. Moscow holds Bakhmut and the territory east to the Russian border. The city, shattered by fighting and denuded of population, fell to Russia in May, and Ukrainian forces retreated west. Now Ukraine is on the offensive.

THE LATEST: Ukrainian forces are not battling in Bakhmut itself, but instead in surrounding areas. On Wednesday, the Ukrainian military’s general staff said in an update that Ukrainian troops had forced Russia to withdraw from positions south of the village of Andriivka, which is around seven miles south of Bakhmut. The Ukrainian update also said that Russia had unsuccessfully tried to recover lost ground north and west of Klishchiivka, a Russian-held village whose elevation makes it valuable to artillery units.

Russia’s Defense Ministry did not comment on the fighting on Wednesday, and there was no independent confirmation of the Ukrainian report.

In recent weeks, Ukraine was set on retaking Klishchiivka, but Russian forces reinforced their positions with troops and artillery, halting the Ukrainian advance and forcing Kyiv’s forces to pay dearly for each yard they recaptured. Both sides have repeatedly attacked and counterattacked around Andriivka, making it difficult to discern exactly how much terrain has changed hands.

WHY IT MATTERS: Ukraine launched a counteroffensive last month, attacking Russian positions in two sectors in the south of the country and around Bakhmut in the east. It appears that Ukraine may have made greater progress around Bakhmut, where some military experts have said that Russia had less time to prepare defensive positions relative to the months it has had in the south.

Despite the scale of the losses Russia took to secure Bakhmut, the city holds limited strategic value — it sits on low ground and is vulnerable to Ukrainian artillery. In addition, Ukrainian forces have dug defenses west of the city, making any further Russian advance difficult.

Moscow has in recent weeks also attempted to advance west from towns it holds farther north. Military experts say that part of the purpose of this push could be to pressure Ukraine to redeploy its forces away from the fighting around Bakhmut.