ISW: Russian offensive in Bakhmut stuck
According to the US think tank “Institute for the Study of War”, the Russian attacks in the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut have come to a standstill. There is no evidence of further advance, the ISW announced on Saturday evening (local time). According to the spokesman for the Ukrainian armed forces in the east, Serhiy Cherevaty, there were 23 battles in the city within 24 hours.
Russian troops have been beating Bakhmut since August. According to the British Ministry of Defence, they now largely control the eastern part of the city. The front therefore runs along the river Bakhmutka, which flows through the middle of the city. Any further advance would probably cost the invaders high casualties.
At least five people were killed and seven injured in Russian attacks in other regions of Ukraine. The governor of Donetsk, Pavlo Kyrylenko, announced that one person had been killed in Kostyantynivka and Tonenke. Four civilians were also injured. According to the regional authorities, three people died and three were injured in Kherson. The provincial capital of the same name came under fire three times, it said.
According to the British Ministry of Defence, the extremely high losses suffered by Russian troops are particularly high among members of ethnic minorities. While major cities such as Moscow and St. Petersburg have reported relatively low casualties, the death rate is 30 to 40 percent higher in relation to their respective populations. In the southern Russian region of Astrakhan, around 75 percent of the victims are Kazakhs or Tatars.