Ukraine says Russian forces make some progress in frontline city of Bakhmut

Ukraine says Russian forces have achieved some success in the frontline city of Bakhmut, as months-long intense fighting drags on between the two sides over the mining city in the eastern industrial region of Donetsk.

For the past several months, Bakhmut and its surrounding towns have been the focal point of attacks by Russia, which launched a full-scale war against neighboring Ukraine on February 24 last year.

Neither side has full control over the city and both have suffered heavy losses so far.

For the Kremlin, capturing Bakhmut is essential for achieving its stated goal of taking control of the whole of Donetsk, one of the four Ukrainian regions – along with Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia – that Moscow added to the Russian Federation following referendums in the said regions in September last year.

So far, much of the territory in the Russian-annexed regions still remain in Ukrainian hands.

Moscow says Bakhmut would be a stepping stone and a rare battlefield gain in completing the capture of the Donbas industrial region (composed of Donetsk and Luhansk), one of Moscow’s most important objectives.

On Wednesday evening, Ukrainian military officials said that Russian forces had had some progress in the flashpoint city, stressing, however, that their fighters were still holding on in the battle.

Only 57 Russian attacks were reported on Wednesday.

Separately on Wednesday, Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told reporters on a repeat visit to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant that there had been a “significant increase” in the number of troops in the region.

“It is obvious that military activity is increasing in this whole region. So the plant can’t be protected,” he warned.

Zaporizhzhia is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and among the 10 largest in the world. Russian forces seized the plant soon after the invasion. Ukraine accuses Russia of storing heavy weapons in the plant. Moscow denies the allegation.

Grossi added that he was putting aside plans for a security zone around the plant so he could propose specific protection measures acceptable to both Russia and Ukraine.