Kiev, April 11, (dpa/GNA) – The Ukrainian army has repelled 60 attacks since Sunday and shot down six drones, according to the general staff in Kiev.
Russian forces were most active in the Donetsk area in the east, the general staff said on Monday.
The city of Kherson in the south was also hit by massive artillery fire, they added.
The main focus of the fighting is reportedly still in the city and in the Bakhmut area in the Donetsk region.
The commander of the Ukrainian armed forces in the east, General Olexandr Syrskyi, accused Russia of using “scorched earth tactics” there, as it has in Syria.
“Buildings and positions are being destroyed with air strikes and artillery fire. The situation is difficult but under control,” he said.
He said Ukrainian troops were “heroically” withstanding the Russians’ offensive in Bakhmut and had managed to wear down the units of the Russian private army Wagner, so that the enemy was now forced to use special forces of the regular Russian armed services.
Photos and videos showed burnt-out skeletons of houses and mountains of rubble of collapsed buildings.
His comments contradict statements by the head of the Wagner mercenary force, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who recently said his units were making progress in Bakhmut and said Ukrainian units were struggling due to the loss of supply routes.
However judging from a recruitment letter issued by Prigozhin, the Wagner forces do not have enough soldiers.
In an advertisement, via an open letter, the Wagner army said it is recruiting for volunteers aged 21 and 60 to be deployed to the war zone in Ukraine.
Completed military service is not a prerequisite, it said.
Both the Wagner army and regular Russian soldiers are facing a Ukrainian leadership that insists it will not give up Bakhmut, a city of strategic importance as otherwise, this would enable Moscow’s troops to make further progress into the interior of the country.
The Kremlin, meanwhile, remains determined to seize the Donetsk region, one of its stated aims since early in the war.
Russia continues to prioritize and expand its resources in the Donestk region, including the Maryinka and Adviivka areas, for “minimal gains,” according to the British Defence Ministry daily Twitter report on Monday.
Over the last week, Russia has likely stepped up its assaults around the town of Maryinka, some 20 kilometres south-west of Donetsk city.
The town has been fought over since 2014 and is “largely destroyed” the report said. It is a key transportation hub, as it controls approaches to Donetsk and a key roadway, the H15.
Donetsk is the largest city in the region of the same name, which was declared an independent people’s republic by Moscow-backed separatists. In the meantime, Moscow has annexed the area in violation of international law.
Britain’s Defence Ministry has been publishing daily reports since Russia invaded Ukraine in February of 2022. Moscow accuses London of a disinformation campaign, but the report is a way for the British government to counter Russia’s narrative.
GNA