The commander of the Land Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, made a comment for a Ukrainian outlet.
"The situation in the Bakhmut direction has changed. There has been a significant decrease in any active enemy actions with an increase in the number of attacks with heavy weapons, mainly artillery and mortars. At first glance, it seems that the enemy has abandoned waging an offensive in this direction, but it is not truly so," he said.
"The format of the operation has temporarily changed due to the withdrawal of Wagner units and their replacement with army and airborne units. That's why the current situation may look like a lull. But unfortunately, it is only a temporary lull," the general added.
According to Syrskyi, Russia is trying to seize the initiative to prevent a counteroffensive by the Ukrainian Armed Forces and to go on the offensive itself.
On May 25, the founder of Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, announced the beginning of the withdrawal of his units from Bakhmut.