Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister on Bakhmut: ‘We’re buying time for certain planned actions’

Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said that Ukraine’s Armed Forces were advancing in certain areas in the battle for Bakhmut.

According to Maliar, Ukrainian forces were able to advance in certain areas by half a kilometer during fighting north of Bakhmut on May 18. In the suburbs south of Bakhmut, Maliar said that Russian forces had tried to launch an offensive and regain previously lost positions, but suffered losses. She said that Ukraine’s armed forces were able to advance by one kilometer in some areas.

Maliar also reported that Ukrainian troops continue to control the southern and western parts of Bakhmut, though the Russian command assembled “most of their reserves and strengthened their forces” in the city.

According to BBC Russian, Maliar confirms the general state of affairs in Bakhmut, such as Wagner Group attempting to advance into city, and the Ukrainian armed forces advancing on the flanks around the city.

The head of Wagner Group, Evgeny Prigozhin, claims that mercenaries have advanced by 400 meters (around 1312 feet) in some areas and that the Ukrainian military only holds one square kilometer of Bakhmut. He added that, “unfortunately, the flanks were crumbling.”