Ukraine shocks Russians with its counteroffensive – BILD

The German publication Bild writes about it.

The media reported that the Armed Forces of Ukraine successfully reclaimed parts of their territory for the first time this year during a local offensive.

Russian mercenary commander Yevgeny Prigozhin confirmed the top-secret Ukrainian offensive on Tuesday, cursing and criticizing the Russian army's 72nd Brigade.

Later on Tuesday, the leader of the Azov tactical group also confirmed the offensive. Over the course of two days, his fighters attacked the Russians southwest of Bakhmut and eventually forced them to retreat.

According to analysts of the publication, the Ukrainian military made a surprise breakthrough on Monday, May 8, southwest of Bakhmut, reclaiming up to eight square kilometers of territory that had been occupied since January, and killing up to 64 invaders while capturing others.

The publication believes that this success greatly boosted the morale of Ukraine. For the first time, the country managed not only to stop the Russian advance around the city of Bakhmut, where battles have been ongoing since September, but even repelled it.

Previously, everything had been going in only one direction, namely to the west, and the Ukrainian counterattack proved that the country's army can establish itself exactly where Russia is doing everything to achieve at least a small success. On the Russian side, the loss of only eight square kilometers of bombed-out trenches was a significant blow.

• On May 5, the founder of PMС Wagner wrote a letter to the leadership of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, in which he announced his intention to withdraw his mercenaries from Bakhmut on May 10. Previously, Prigozhin had repeatedly spoken about the lack of ammunition, but Defense Minister Shoigu assures that the army has enough of it.

• At the time, the Armed Forces explained what caused Prigozhin's statements about the "shell hunger" of the occupiers - his words mean the inability to take control of Bakhmut, Donetsk region.

• On May 9, the head of the illegal Wagner PMC reported in another video about problems with ammunition for his mercenaries, and also complained about the active actions of the Defense Forces in Donetsk region.

• Serhii Cherevatyi, spokesman for the Eastern Grouping of Forces, said on Espreso that he believes Prigozhin is looking for an excuse as to why he did not fulfill his obligations.

• Ukrainian military and the first Azov commander Andriy Biletskyi said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine defeated several Russian companies and captured the enemy.

• On May 10, Mykola ‘Abdula’ Volokhov, commander of the Terra reconnaissance unit as part of the Azov tactical group, said that the Ukrainian military had liberated more than two kilometers of Bakhmut, Donetsk region.