On Sunday, 5 March, the commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyy, visited the units defending Bakhmut and the approaches to the city, Military Media Center has said.
The commander noted that the fighting for Bakhmut had reached the highest level of tension.
"The enemy sent additional Wagner forces into the battle. Our soldiers are bravely defending their positions to the north of Bakhmut, trying to prevent the city from being surrounded," Syrskyy said.
He also noted that Ukrainian forces had been defending the town for several months.
"All this time, the enemy's attempts to capture the city have been defeated by the resilience of our soldiers. Our defenders inflicted significant losses on the enemy, destroyed a large number of vehicles, forced [Russia to throw] the best Wagner assault units into the fight and reduced the enemy's offensive potential," he added.
Today, at a meeting of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's Staff, Syrskyy and Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyy supported the continuation of the defence operation and further strengthening of our positions in Bakhmut.