He said this on Espreso TV.
“The Donetsk direction is characterized by several hot spots. Obviously, the most fierce fighting continues in the Bakhmut direction, where Russians are actually putting pressure on the defenders of Bakhmut from three directions, controlling the eastern neighborhoods of the city up to the Bakhmutka river. They are also attempting to push our defenders from the south and north, trying to create an operational encirclement. However, they are confronted by Ukrainian paratroopers who have recently arrived to strengthen our positions in the Bakhmut area and do not allow Putin's soldiers to advance, destroying them in large numbers,” the Ukrainian Armed Forces colonel emphasized.
Vladyslav Selezniov noted that Ukrainian tanks and artillery are actively working in the eastern neighborhoods of Bakhmut, where Russian soldiers and mercenaries of the Wagner PMC are stationed.
“No less fierce fighting continues to the south, near Avdiivka, with the situation being particularly difficult near Krasnohorivka and Marinka, where the Russians are also trying to use their numerical superiority to attack our positions. However, they are not succeeding, because the defenses built by the Ukrainian Defense Forces are too powerful. As for Vuhledar, we again see in the reports of the Ukrainian General Staff that Russian artillerymen have become more active there, which may be a prerequisite for a new offensive by the Russian marines, who have repeatedly received a significant slap on the wrist in this area of the front. However, they have become stronger. They have been supplied with new chambers and may try to implement Putin's plan to take the Donetsk and Luhansk regions by the end of March. But they will fail,” Selezniov assured.
On March 13, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi said that in Bakhmut, the Wagner soldiers' assault units were trying to break through the defense and advance to the central areas.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces' General Staff reported that over the past day on March 12, Ukrainian soldiers repelled more than 100 enemy attacks in the Donetsk region.