ARTYOMOVSK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th April, 2023) Soldiers from the Wagner Group private military company have advanced to the western outskirts of the city of Bakhmut, also known as Artyomovsk, with the fighting taking place west of the railway, a member of the group told Sputnik on Monday.
"Three days ago, we advanced behind the railway to a nine-storey building, we have cleared it and are now moving westward. There are nine-storey buildings in front of us, the last ones that remain in the western part of Bakhmut," the soldier said.
Fighting in the western part of Bakhmut was especially heavy since there were few shelters for advancing Wagner soldiers, while the Ukrainian troops were holding advantageous defense positions inside the buildings, the Wagner member added.
Earlier in the day, Spanish newspaper Mundo reported, citing sources, that Ukrainian forces had left only several brigades in Bakhmut and withdrawn the rest of troops from the city.
The hotly contested Bakhmut, located north of the city of Donetsk, has been the center of hostilities between Russia and Ukraine for months. For Donbas, the city is an important transport hub with many crossroads, which served as a vital center for supplying Ukrainian troops stationed in the region at the beginning of the military operation launched by Russia in Ukraine a year ago.
