The Russian winter offensive to gain total control of the Donbas has “failed” 80 days after its start, according to the defense ministry.
The temporary advantage Russia gained by mobilizing some 300,000 troops in the fall has been largely squandered by Russia’s “marginal gains at the cost of tens of thousands of casualties” in the eastern region, the defense ministry said.
General Valery Gerasimov, the Chief of the General Staff, who personally took command of the “special military operation” in Ukraine in January, is leading the offensive in the Donbas, including the city of Bakhmut, which has seen the most fierce fighting in recent months . .
“After ten years as CGS, there is a realistic possibility that Gerasimov will push the limits of how far Russia’s political leadership will tolerate failure,” the Defense Ministry said.
In recent weeks, Moscow has shifted its focus to Avdiivka in the Donetsk region, hoping to encircle the Ukrainian forces defending it after failing to take nearby Bakhmut so far.
However, Bakmut remains “one of the main targets of the enemy,” Serhiy Cherevatyi said.
The Ukrainian army said on Saturday it had killed 162 Russians in Bakhmut in the past day.
“Over the past day, they launched 170 barrel and rocket artillery attacks in the Bakhmut section of the front. 25 battles took place, killing 162 occupiers and wounding 157 others,” Cherevatyi told Ukrinform, a local news agency. .