Monitoring Desk
KYIV: Kyiv said Sunday it was holding off attacks from Russian forces still trying to surround Bakhmut, a now-destroyed eastern city of Ukraine that Moscow has been attempting to capture for months.
Ukraine has pledged to defend “fortress Bakhmut” but has been facing Russian forces determined to occupy the city, which has become a political hub as the war drags on.
The Ukrainian general staff said over 130 enemy attacks had been repelled last day, including in Lyman, Bakhmut, Kupiansk, and Avdiivka.
It said on Sunday morning that the enemy continues its struggle to encircle the town.
Ukrainian forces’ spokesman Sergiy Cherevaty said that the situation was challenging but under control in Bakhmut, which he termed a priority target for the attacker enemy.
Fighting around Bakhmut city
There is fighting around the city, the Institute for the Study of War said, warning that now Ukrainian supply routes are narrowing.
ISW said that the Russian forces may have intended to encircle Ukrainian troops in the city, but the Ukrainian command has shown that it will possibly withdraw rather than risk an encirclement.
Russia and Ukraine have since the summer heavily fought for the city, whose symbolic significance surpassed its military importance.
