UK intelligence: 'Severe pressure' on Ukrainian forces in Bakhmut

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
4 Mar 2023 13:07

The United Kingdom's Ministry of Defense reveals that the situation in Bakhmut becomes more "limited" as Russia advances.

Ukrainian servicemen rest after leaving Bakhmut, in Chasiv Yar, Ukraine, Friday, March 3, 2023 (AP).

The UK Ministry of Defense stated that routes to besieged Bakhmut made the possibility of resupplying the Ukrainian Armed Forces "increasingly limited".

“The Ukrainian defense of the Donbas town of Bakhmut is under increasingly severe pressure, with intense fighting taking place in and around the city,” the MoD said.

The MoD's latest intelligence bulletin stated that Kiev has reinforced the region with "elite soldiers," while also having demolished critical bridges.

The MoD highlighted that "within the last 36 hours two key bridges in Bakhmut have been destroyed, including a vital bridge connecting the city to the last main supply route from Bakhmut to the city of Chasiv Yar."

However, the Russian forces have also made additional gains and have advanced "into the northern suburbs of the city, which is now a Ukrainian-held salient, vulnerable to Russian attacks on three sides."

US merc says Bakhmut frontline life expectancy around 4 hours

A US mercenary fighting on the frontlines against the Russian armed forces said, late in February, the Bakhmut frontlines were highly gruesome, comparing the front to a meat grinder, as Russia pushes against Ukraine's forces in the city for which battles have been taking place for months.

Former US Marine Troy Offenbecker underlined to ABC News that the life expectancy of Ukrainian soldiers on the city's frontlines was only about four hours, with a major offensive still expected from Russia.

"It's been pretty bad on the ground," he told the US network. "A lot of casualties. The life expectancy is around four hours on the frontline."

Offenbecker underlined that he was not sure how long Kiev's forces would be able to hold the city, adding that the expected offensive had already kicked off and that attacks from Russians have been "nonstop" in Bakhmut, with artillery raining down upon it "all day and night".

Meanwhile, a retired US Marine Corps Colonel told Newsweek that the ongoing battles in Bakhmut were highly reminiscent of World War I, highlighting that during WWI, "the line didn't move very much but there was tremendous attrition."

He further underlined that experts thought Russia's push would "explode", where one day everything would be quiet, with the next day witnessing a "huge attack".