BAKHMUT /1310 UTC 28 JAN/ UKR troops are engaged in the urban area of Krasna Hora as RU tactical units attempt to take the T-05-13 / M-03 HWY junction. South of the city, the UKR Gen’l Staff reports two RU attacks were repelled S of Ivanivske. pic.twitter.com/dVGpF2FM1o
— Chuck Pfarrer | Indications & Warnings | (@ChuckPfarrer) January 28, 2023
DNYUZ/New York Times: Russia and Ukraine Battle for Control of Villages Near the Key City of Bakhmut
Russian forces were wrestling for control of villages in eastern Ukraine near the beleaguered city of Bakhmut over the weekend, the latest flash point in a battle that Moscow views as crucial for its push to seize the whole of the eastern region of Donbas.
Ukraine’s general staff said on Sunday that its soldiers had repelled attacks on the small village of Blahodatne and several other settlements in the area. The statement came a day after Russia’s Wagner group, a private military company that has conducted much of the fighting around Bakhmut on Moscow’s behalf, claimed that its forces had captured Blahodatne. “Blahodatne is under our control,” Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Russian businessman and the head of the Wagner group, said on Saturday in a statement posted on a website for one of his companies.
Russia’s defense ministry has not confirmed the report and the claim could not be independently verified. Mr. Prigozhin has sought to cast his mercenaries as the most effective fighting force in the area and previously has claimed credit for battlefield advances ahead of Kremlin confirmation.
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WNU Editor: There are numerous reports on social media that Ukraine will be withdrawing their forces from Bakhmut. Apparently Russian forces are on the verge of operationally encircling this major city, an encirclement that US officials say will be a disaster for the Ukraine military if they continue to stay in Bakhmut.
Russian Military Escalates Attacks On The Bakhmut Area
Ukraine says it repels attack around Blahodatne while Russia’s Wagner claims control — CNBC/Reuters
Russia Escalates Attack on Bakhmut Area as Kyiv Warns New Offensive Is Imminent — WSJ
Fierce fighting reported in Ukraine’s Donetsk region — RTE
Russia, Ukraine Make Conflicting Claims on Control of Donetsk Region Village — VOA
“Russians Are Approaching”: Ukraine Town Evacuates Amid Rising Attacks — AFP
At Ukraine front, embattled Bakhmut residents desperate for water — France 24