Russian troops are losing initiative in Bakhmut area, - ISW
Despite the limited nature of Ukrainian counterattacks, Russian troops are losing the initiative in the Bakhmut area.
As reported by Censor.NET with reference to UP, this is stated in the report of the Institute for the Study of War.
Russian and Ukrainian officials reportedly acknowledged the continuation of limited Ukrainian counterattacks near Bakhmut on May 17.
In particular, Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Maliar stated that Ukrainian troops are advancing in unknown directions on the flanks of Bakhmut. For his part, the spokesman of the Eastern Group, Serhii Cherevaty, said that the defenders had advanced up to 500 meters in the Bakhmut direction in the past day and continued to advance on the flanks of the Russians.
Also, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the Russian airborne troops achieved a slight advance, but recognized the continuation of Ukrainian counterattacks on the flanks of Bakhmut in the area of Bohdanivka (5 km northwest of Bakhmut) and Ivanivske (6 km west of Bakhmut).
The leader of "Wagner" Prigozhin denied the statement of the Ministry of Defense about the territorial gains and criticized the Ministry of Defense for falsely presenting the retreat as the capture of new positions.
"One prominent blogger complained that Russian forces must now respond to Ukrainian actions, implying that Russian forces are losing the initiative in the Bakhmut area, despite the limited nature of Ukrainian counterattacks in the area," the ISW report said.
