"Fierce
fighting
" was taking place this Sunday, February 5 in the northern districts of Bakhmout, a hot spot on the front in eastern Ukraine, said the boss of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, Evguéni Prigojine.
The day before, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recognized a situation which "
is getting
more complicated
" in the sector in the face of troops from Moscow.
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The Russian army, backed by Wagner's mercenaries, has been trying since the summer to capture this largely destroyed eastern Ukrainian town and turned into a fortress where both sides face heavy losses .
Moscow has made small territorial gains in recent weeks in the area in hopes of breaking the Ukrainian lock on Bakhmout, including capturing the northern town of Soledar and more recently the village of Blagodatne.
"
Fierce fighting is taking place in the northern neighborhoods (of Bakhmout) for every street, every house, every stairwell
," said Prigojine, whose men are on the front line there.
“
The Ukrainian armed forces are not retreating.
They are fighting to the last man
,” he said, quoted by his press service on Telegram.
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The Ukrainian general staff confirmed to him without detailing fighting and bombardments which continue in several points in the east of the country where at least four civilians have been killed and eleven injured in the past 24 hours according to regional authorities.
Five people were also injured on Sunday in two Russian strikes on the center of Kharkiv, the country's second city, which hit residential buildings and a higher education institution, according to the head of the Kharkiv regional military administration, Oleg Synegubov.
According to Ukrainian forces, this image from a video released on February 1 shows Ukrainian units attacking Russian positions in Bakhmout.
UKRAINE NATIONAL GUARD / REUTERS
"
Breaking the defense
" of Ukraine
On Saturday evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged that the situation was "
complicating
" on the front and in particular in Bakhmout, which he had earlier sworn not to abandon and to defend "
as long as possible
".
He also cited Vougledar where Russian troops are on the offensive and Lyman, a town recaptured from the Russians during a Ukrainian counter-offensive in 2022. "
The occupier is mobilizing its forces more and more to break our defence
", he added.
kyiv, which fears a new large-scale Russian attack, is impatiently awaiting the delivery of weapons promised by the West, in particular heavy tanks and longer-range rockets.
On Saturday, Canada shipped the first of its pledged Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.
A series of other Western countries have promised new weapons to Ukraine, including the United States, France, but also Germany after some hesitation over the delivery of its Leopard tanks.
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Western arms deliveries are crucial for Kiev and have provoked the ire of Moscow, which has brandished the threat of an escalation of the conflict that began in February 2022. A European embargo on petroleum products exported by sea must also come into force. force Sunday, a "
negative
" measure that will "
further unbalance
" the markets, according to the Kremlin.
