Wagner forces seize Bakhmut-2 railway station, but ‘highway of life’ is controlled by Ukraine - ISW

This is stated in a report by the US Institute for the Study of War. 

It is noted that Wagner forces managed to move west of the railroad line near the station and approach the railroad line south of the station.

At the same time, the militants failed to cut the so-called ‘highway of life’, namely highway 0506. 

According to analysts, the leader of the Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, denied that his mercenaries had surrounded Bakhmut and said that rumours of the encirclement were creating problems for them.

ISW noted that Russian troops continued to conduct offensive actions on the Avdiivka-Donetsk line. In particular, they conducted unsuccessful offensive operations 13 km north of Avdiivka and 32 km northwest of Avdiivka in the area of Pervomayske. 

Russian troops also conducted a limited ground attack in the western part of Donetsk region near Vuhledar. Occupiers achieved minor success north of Mykilske. 

• Roman Konon, a lieutenant with the Freedom battalion of the National Guard of Ukraine, said that all houses in Bakhmut were damaged, some destroyed to the foundation.