Despite the slow pace of the Ukrainian counter-offensive, Ukraine currently has fewer losses than Russia. Recently, Ukrainian troops liberated the village of Urozhaine, and now they are also about to surround Russian-occupied Bachmut, says lieutenant colonel Johan Huovinen.
– The Ukrainians are attacking north and south of Bachmut and are slowly but surely on the way to forming an encirclement around the city. But they are not quite there yet, he says.
It was in May that the paramilitary Wagner Group announced that it would withdraw from the Ukrainian town of Bachmut. The group’s leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, accused the Russian military leadership of, among other things, not getting the ammunition they needed.
A few weeks later, the Wagner group entered Russia after it was claimed that Russian attacks were directed at the group’s positions in Ukraine.
Bachmut is strategically important for Ukraine, and now it seems that the country’s forces are about to encircle it. If you have succeeded in recapturing the city, it will probably revive the discussions about what significance the Wagner Group, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, actually had with its former presence in the area, believes Johan Huovinen.
– Prigozhin was very critical of how people were sacrificed in the battles around Bachmut and he did not get the resources he wanted. If the Russians were to lose Bachmut, there is a risk that the Russian armed forces leadership will once again be criticized by the Russian military blogosphere with supporters who are quite hard-boiled nationalists and fanatics, he says.
Ukraine: Urozhaine liberated
Although things are slow for Ukraine, there are continuous reports that they have succeeded in regaining ground – recently they reportedly liberated the village of Urozhaine in the Donetsk region. In video clips you can see how soldiers raise the Ukrainian flag at the site.
Russian soldiers and military bloggers have also previously suggested that it was only a matter of time before the village would be retaken by Ukraine as it had been under attack from several sides for some time, reports CNN.
The recapture of the village gives an indication that Ukraine is continuing the offensive in the direction south towards the Sea of Azov, reports Reuters.
“Going better for Ukraine is for Russia”
According to Johan Huovinen, Ukraine is doing better than Russia at the moment in terms of the number of losses. In addition, the Russian forces will have challenges at the front line.
– Things are going better for Ukraine than for Russia. “It looks like the Russians have more casualties than the Ukrainian side, which indicates that Ukraine is doing better,” he says.
– At the same time, the Russian side has decided to defend itself and is not really making any offensives at all. At the same time, we see that they have real difficulties with the staff. The Ukrainian side changes personnel every 14 days or so, but we don’t see that on the Russian side. They have far too extended lines, they defend themselves from Kherson to Luhansk which is a front line equivalent to about 70 miles.