Ukraine says intensity of use of heavy artillery, airstrikes increased in Bakhmut

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Kyiv has said the intensity of the use of heavy artillery and airstrikes in Donetsk region's city of Bakhmut, a hot spot in Russia’s war with Ukraine, increased.

Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said on Telegram late Monday that Russian offensives in the eastern part of the country continue, stressing that Bakhmut and the town of Marinka remain “at the epicenter of hostilities.”

Maliar claimed that Russian offensives in the directions of Lyman, Avdiivka, and Marinka towns were unsuccessful, further claiming that attacks reported by the Ukrainian General Staff in the direction of Kupiansk were also repelled.

Russian forces have been trying for months to capture Bakhmut, a transport and logistics hub in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, which is part of the largely Russian-speaking industrialized Donbas region.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the private military company Wagner, claimed in late March that the battle for the city “almost destroyed the Ukrainian army” and “battered” his group.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s General Staff said attacks by Russian forces in the direction of Bakhmut continued with “partial success.”