Russian military control almost half of Bakhmut

Yan Gagin, an adviser to acting head of the Donetsk People's Republic, said that the Russian forces took control of almost half of the city of Bakhmut (the Russian name of the city is Artemovsk).

"Our artillery and our troops are already in the city, and they control almost half of Bakhmut,” Gagin said. According to him, asphalt roads that lead to the city have been destroyed and taken under control. Muddy roads make it extremely difficult for the Ukrainian forces to move along country roads.

On March 6, it was reported that the Ukrainian authorities decided to continue the defence of Bakhmut. Entrepreneur Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of private military company (PMC) Wagner, said that his fighters were creating groups in settlements around the city.

Bakhmut has become a new trap for units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), Gagin earlier said. The russian military control practically all roads that lead to the city, he said adding that there were as many as 10,000 military servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine staying in Bakhmut.