While the Wagner Group of Russia holds the majority of the eastern portion, Ukraine exerts control in the west of the now-ruinous and virtually uninhabited Bakhmut.
Russian forces are reportedly conducting more military operations in the Donetsk region, which together with the neighboring Luhansk province makes up Donbas, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Both Ukraine and Russia claimed significant casualties in the Donetsk area of Ukraine on Sunday, and the violent battle for the sleepy hamlet of Bakhmut is still going on as Moscow makes more advances into its neighbor’s territory.
According to British intelligence, the Bakhmutka River, which divides the town, serves as the front line, with Ukraine forces controlling the western portion of the now-destroyed and virtually deserted Bakhmut and Russia’s Wagner Group controlling the majority of the eastern part.
According to Volodymyr Zelenskiy, president of Ukraine, Russian forces have lost more than 1,100 soldiers in recent days of fighting in the Bakhmut section of the frontline.
“We managed to kill more than 1,100 enemy soldiers in the Bakhmut sector alone in less than a week, starting from the 6th March, Russia’s irreparable loss, right there, near Bakhmut,” Zelenskiy said in his nightly video presentation.
He said that 1,500 “sanitary losses” — soldiers who were too severely injured to continue fighting — had been suffered by Russian forces.
Russian forces are reportedly conducting more military operations in the Donetsk region, which together with the neighboring Luhansk province makes up Donbas, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Throughout the course of the previous day, more than 220 Ukrainian servicemen were killed, according to the ministry.
More than 220 Ukrainian service members, a D-30 artillery, three armored combat vehicles, seven vehicles, an infantry fighting vehicle, and more were all destroyed during the day in the Donetsk direction, according to the ministry.
Both sides have acknowledged experiencing and inflicting heavy losses in Bakhmut over the previous three months, however it is difficult to independently verify the precise number of fatalities.
Ukraine has stated repeatedly that it will continue to defend Bakhmut, with top commanders stating over the weekend that the battle there will buy them the time they need to get ready for an imminent, larger-scale counterattack.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner Group of mercenaries, stated on Sunday in a voice recording that was posted on the Telegram channel of his press service, “On Bakhmut: the situation there is bad, extremely difficult, and the enemy is fighting for every meter.
And the violence gets more intense the closer it gets to the city center.
According to Moscow, taking Bakhmut would weaken Ukrainian defenses and pave the way for capturing the entire industrial Donbas region, a key aim.
Yet there has also been continuous fighting and severe bombardment along the entire frontline in the east and south of Ukraine, including other areas of Donetsk.
Donetsk was shelled four times on Sunday by Ukrainian forces, according to officials deployed by Russia, which caused damage to electricity lines and residential areas.
The report could not be independently verified by Reuters. Both parties have frequently insisted that their attacks do not target people.
Thousands of citizens in Ukraine as well as the military from both sides have died in the conflict. In what Kiev and the West refer to as an unprovoked war of conquest, Russia has attacked Ukrainian cities and forced millions of citizens to flee.
When Svetlana Boiko’s residence was hit during the Donetsk shelling, she suffered injuries. According to her, shells “used to whiz over without ever striking us,” according to Reuters.
“It hasn’t struck us since 2014; this is the first time. Hence, this is how 2023 will appear, “said Boiko.
Russian separatists have been occupying parts of the Donetsk area and three other Ukrainian districts since 2014, according to claims made by Russia in September.
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