Battles for Bakhmut move to city center 

The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine reports this.

The State Border Guard Service has reported that the fighting for Bakhmut has now moved to the central part of the city, with occupiers and Ukrainian defenders only a few meters apart in some areas. The border guards have observed no signs of shell starvation, which were previously reported in the Wagner PMC. However, they have noticed changes among the enemy personnel.

The tactics of the enemy in the Bakhmut direction have also undergone a shift. The border guards stated that a group of 5 to 10 people scouts the situation, fires at Ukrainian defenders, aiming to provoke them to fire back, thereby revealing their firing point. There has also been an increase in the use of drones, which can linger for up to three days and fire chaotically to provoke a response.

After detecting these firing points, an assault may occur approximately on the third day. The enemy enters in larger groups from the flanks and tries to encircle the firing position of the Defense Forces.

• Chief of Intelligence Kyrylo Budanov said that in all districts, except for Bakhmut and Avdiivka, Russia turned to a strategic defensive operation in order to keep the captured territories.

• The AFU continued to destroy Wagner fighters and the so-called elite Russian troops sent to reinforce the front in Bakhmut.