BAHKMUT: Russian armed forces have had some success in the frontline city of Bakhmut, Ukrainian military officials said, adding that their army soldiers were still holding on in a battle that lasted many months.
In southern Ukraine, the United Nations nuclear watchdog chief said there had been a significant increase in the number of troops in the
Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia power plant region and it could no longer be protected.
Frontline city and surrounding areas under assault
The frontline city of Bakhmut and surrounding areas in the eastern industrial region of Donetsk have been the important point of assault for much of the 13-month-long invasion by Russia of neighbouring Ukraine. Neither side has control, and both have suffered heavy losses.
“Enemy forces had the degree of success in their actions aimed at storming the city of Bakhmut,” the Ukrainian armed forces General Staff said in a regular nighttime report.
“Our defenders are holding the Bakhmut and repelling massive enemy attacks.”
The average number of daily Russian forces attacks on the front line reported by the general staff of Ukraine has declined for four straight weeks since the start of March to 69 in the last seven days from 124 in the week of March 1 to 7. Just 57 attacks were reported on Wednesday.
Reuters journalists near the front west of Bakhmut and north reported a notable reduction in the intensity of Russian attacks the previous week.
Russian officials said their forces still capture ground in street-by-street fighting inside Bakhmut. Reuters wasn’t able to verify battlefield reports.
‘Cannot be protected’
The Zaporizhzhia power station was captured by the Russian military in the opening weeks of the war a year ago, and attempts to reduce fighting and to shell around it have failed despite fears of a nuclear disaster.
A head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, on a repeat visit to the plant, told Russian reporters there had been a “significant increase” in the number of forces in the region.
“It is obvious that military forces activity is increasing in this whole region. So the plant cannot be protected,” he said
Grossi said he was putting aside plans for the security zone around the plant to propose specific protection measures acceptable to Russia and Ukraine.
The plant was the prized part of Ukraine’s energy network and accounted for about 20 per cent of national power generation before the invasion. It hadn’t produced any electricity since September when the last of its six reactors were taken offline.
Russian forces shelled towns in the central Zaporizhzhia region, including the contested centre of Hulyaipole, the Ukrainian general staff said.
