Bakhmut situation: Wagner forces have serious personnel problems, AFU hold number of buildings and advance

Colonel Serhiy Cherevatyi shared the information in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.

Ukrainian Armed Forces hold a number of buildings in Bakhmut

According to the official, the Defense Forces are holding the “Litak” area and have fortifications, trenches, and strongholds there, including in the southwestern part of the city. On Sunday, the Special Operations Forces and border guards published videos from Bakhmut itself. The statements of the head of the illegal Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, about the complete capture of the city are not true.

"In order to preserve the remnants of his personnel and reputation, he has no choice but to come up with a special information operation: I have already won and am leaving, and then let the regular army, which he himself criticizes and says is incapable of anything, deal with the situation. This is the country of surrealism," Cherevatyi said.

The spokesman noted that Wagner mercenaries have suffered very heavy losses and are running out of personnel, unlike ammunition. "They are not suffering from shell hunger, they have serious problems with people, they have nowhere to replenish, and their losses are huge.

Ukrainians are counterattacking and advancing

According to Cherevatyi, the Ukrainian Armed Forces' actions in Bakhmut are part of a successful defense operation in the Bakhmut direction. 

"Why is it successful? Because we have achieved the main goals. We did not allow them to break through, break our combat order, destroy our group fighting there, and surround it. Moreover, we inflicted enormous losses on them," the official said.

Cherevatyi noted that General Syrskyi professes the principle of active defense. "The Ukrainian Armed Forces have no advantage in Bakhmut, neither in terms of personnel nor in terms of equipment. However, in places where they have the opportunity due to their concentration, proper tactical organization, and the use of combined Western and Soviet weapons, they launch counterattacks and advance.

"During the week we managed to advance from 150 to 2 kilometers per day. Over the last day (the conversation took place on May 22 - ed.), we have advanced 250 to 400 meters in different areas. This is not much. But it allows us to occupy the dominant heights to better strike at the enemy group in Bakhmut," the spokesman noted.

Cherevatyi said that one of the areas where the Ukrainian Armed Forces are advancing successfully is towards Klishchiivka. There is also progress near the Berkhivske water reservoir.

• Serhiy Cherevatyi named the average daily losses of Russian troops near Bakhmut, there are more than 40,000 of them fighting there.