Russian offensive in Bakhmut area ‘slowing down’, says US thinktank

Russian forces’ rate of advance in the Bakhmut area of eastern Ukraine has likely slowed down in recent days, Qazet.az reports according to analysts.

In its latest update, the US think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said Russian military bloggers have “acknowledged that Ukraine has managed to slightly slow down the pace of the Russian advance around Bakhmut and its surrounding settlements”.

One military blogger claimed Ukrainian forces had pushed back elements of the Russian private mercenary company, the Wagner group, to positions they held days ago, it said.

Ukrainian social media sources previously claimed that Kyiv’s forces had completely pushed Russian forces out of the eastern outskirts of Bakhmut around Wednesday.