Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russian commanders of “madness” in their efforts to seize the eastern city of Bakhmut.
The city, which is in the Donetsk region and had a population of 70,000 before the war, has been at the center of Russian attacks for months.
Despite an impending Ukrainian advance on the key city of Kherson, Zelenskyy said the attacks remained in force.
Taking the city would be a symbolic victory for Russia.
“This is where the madness of the Russian command is most evident,” Mr. Zelenskyy said in his late-night speech from Kyiv. “Day after day, for months, they bring people to death there, concentrating the highest level of artillery shells.”
Oleksiy Arestovych, a Zelensky adviser, said Russian troops launched eight separate attacks on Bakhmut one day before lunch and were pushed back each time.
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The city lies on the main road leading to the Ukrainian cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk. As Russia struggles elsewhere in Ukraine, its forces have made progress around Bakhmut in recent weeks.
Analysts say the city itself is of little military value, but if it fell it would put other cities within range of Russian artillery and help change the narrative of a conflict in which Moscow’s forces gradually withdraw.
According to reports, regular Russian troops in the area are supported by paramilitary mercenaries from Wagner. The group’s founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, wants to conquer the city as political spoils.
On Sunday, the mercenary acknowledged the slowness of the Russian advance towards Bakhmut and said the troops were only gaining “100-200 meters per day”.
“Our units are constantly encountering the fiercest enemy resistance and I find the enemy well prepared, motivated, and working confidently and harmoniously,” Prigozhin said in a statement from one of his companies. “This doesn’t stop our fighters from moving forward, but I can’t say how long it will take.”
Despite the intense attacks, Zelensky said Ukrainian troops are resisting and hailing his troops as “heroes”
