Ukraine says its counter-offensive in Bakhmut will start “very soon”; Russia presses with more attacks

The Ukrainian Army prepares a counteroffensive in Bakhmut. This was announced on March 24 by the commander of the land forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi.

According to the military high command, the soldiers of the invaded country will renew their offensive in the strategic town in the east to “take advantage” of the lost momentum of the Russians.

“Very soon, we will seize this opportunity, as we did in the past near Kiev, Kharkiv, Balakliia and Kupiansk,” Syrskyi stressed, referring to last year’s Ukrainian offensives that recaptured large swaths of land that had been seized by the Russians after the start of the war, on February 24, 2022.

The city belonging to the great Donbass region, which is reduced to ruins, has been the scene of great fighting in recent months. Russian troops attempt to capture the city amid the bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War II.

Although at the beginning of March, the group of Wagner mercenaries – which has taken the lead in the Russian offensive – stated that they were close to “victory” to take the city, the men of the attacked nation have resisted and aim to push back the Russians. the invaders.

Syrskyi argues that members of the paramilitary group on the front lines of the Russian assault on eastern and southern Ukraine “are losing considerable strength and are running out of power.”

Meanwhile, around 10,000 civilians still living there are “on the brink of existence”, as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has pointed out.

The humanitarian organization indicated that a large part of the population, many of them elderly or disabled, cling to life in “horrible circumstances.”

“The civilians who are trapped there live in very terrible conditions, spending almost every day between intense shelling in the (underground) shelters (…) All you see are people pushed to the limits of their existence, survival and resilience,” said this Friday Umar Khan of the ICRC speaking at a virtual press conference from Dnipro in central Ukraine.

Khan added that the scale of the destruction is enormous. “Houses are flattened by military fire, roofs are torn off, apartment buildings are full of holes (…) the threat of exploding shells and bombs is constant and some people continue to live in shelters, trying to survive these intense hostilities,” he described.

Russia plans new large-scale attacks

Amid reports of an alleged slowdown in the Russian momentum in Bakhmut, President Vladimir Putin’s troops launched attacks on different Ukrainian regions in the last few hours.

Kiev reported heavy fighting along a stretch of the front stretching from north of Lyman to south of Kupiansk, in the eastern Donetsk region, as well as south of nearby Avdiivka.

These are towns that have been Russia’s main targets since its campaign of aggression in the winter, with which it tries to fully capture the industrialized region of Donbass.

But for now, military experts say the assaults on Moscow have yielded little, even though thousands of soldiers have been killed on both sides in the bloodiest fighting of the war.

Ukraine, meanwhile, recaptured swaths of territory in the second half of 2022 but has since remained mostly on the defensive, while Russia has launched its grand assault with thousands of newly called up reservists and convicts recruited from prison as mercenaries.

“Fortunately we are in the same position (…) Because we are facing a very strong enemy with very good weapons and it is a professional Army, with airborne troops,” a Ukrainian soldier told ‘Reuters’.

Russian strikes across Ukraine kill at least 10 civilians

The invaders’ assaults do not stop and on this March 24 they have claimed the lives of at least ten civilians. Another 20 people were also injured, according to the Ukrainian Presidency.

Five of the deaths were reported in Kostiantynivka, a city in the eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk province, when a Russian missile hit an aid station.

This is one of hundreds of so-called “invincibility points”, established last year by local authorities, to provide heating for residents who, during the winter months, have endured low temperatures without electricity due to constant bombardments. from Moscow.

Prosecutors said the Russians attacked Kostyantynivka with S-300 anti-aircraft missiles and the civilians killed were refugees, Donetsk Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said.

As the war spreads, Russian troops are also using air-launched missiles, explosive drones and glide bombs to attack various regions, Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said.

As winter has turned to spring, the big question on the Ukrainian side is how much longer Russia can sustain its offensive and whether kyiv can reverse the momentum with its planned counterattack.

From the Kremlin they warn that their men are prepared to respond.

With Reuters and AP