RUSSIAN forces are stepping up their use of heavy artillery and air strikes in the devastated eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, the commander of Ukraine’s ground forces said on Tuesday.
Fighting in and around Bakhmut has for months been the epicentre of the war in Ukraine.
“Currently, the enemy is increasing the activity of heavy artillery and the number of air strikes, turning the city into ruins,” General Oleksandr Syrskyi said in a statement.
He said Russia, which launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February last year, remained committed to taking Bakhmut “at any cost” but was suffering significant losses in the battle for the city.
Reuters could not confirm the battlefield situation. Russia says Ukrainian forces have also suffered heavy losses in Bakhmut.
The city, which had a pre-war population of about 70,000, has been Russia’s main target in a winter offensive that has yielded scant gains despite infantry ground combat of an intensity unseen in Europe since World War Two.
Bakhmut’s capture could provide a stepping stone for Russia to advance on two bigger cities it has long coveted in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine: Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.
The head of the Wagner mercenary group, which has spearheaded Russia’s attempt to take Bakhmut, said this month that its fighters controlled more than 80% of the city.
Ukraine denied this, saying it still controlled considerably more than 20% of the city. The Ukrainian military is widely expected to mount a counteroffensive in coming weeks or months aimed at recapturing Russian-held territory.
Meanwhile President Vladimir Putin has visited military headquarters in Russian-controlled Ukraine, the Kremlin said, where he discussed the war with a general from Russia’s airborne troops who has reportedly taken up a powerful new role in the invasion.
Dressed in a heavy blue jacket, Putin, 70, was shown on Russian state television descending from a military helicopter in Russian-held Ukraine and greeting senior military commanders. It was not stated when the visit took place.
The Kremlin said Putin attended a military command meeting in Kherson region. He heard reports from commanders of the airborne forces and the “Dnieper” army group and other senior officers on the situation in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, both of which Moscow has proclaimed part of Russia.
Icons for Easter
Russian troops retreated from the city of Kherson last November and have been reinforcing their positions on the opposite bank of the Dnipro river in anticipation of a Ukrainian counteroffensive.
“It is important for me to hear your opinion on how the situation is developing, to listen to you, to exchange information,” Putin told the commanders.
Colonel-General Mikhail Teplinsky, commander of Russia’s airborne troops, sat to Putin’s right while Colonel-General Oleg Makarevich sat to Putin’s left.
British military intelligence said on Sunday that Teplinsky had been given a major role in the war.
“Teplinsky, commander of Russia’s corps of airborne troops, the VDV, has highly likely returned to a major role in Ukraine,” British military intelligence said. “Teplinsky is likely one of the few senior Russian generals widely respected by the rank-and-file.”
Putin also visited national guard headquarters in Ukraine’s Luhansk region in the eastern Donbas, which Moscow has also claimed to have annexed along with adjacent Donetsk region.
Putin was shown presenting servicemen with a copy of an icon.
“The head of state also congratulated the servicemen on the Easter holiday and gave them copies of icons as a gift,” the Kremlin said.
Russia’s Orthodox Church celebrated Easter on April 16.
