Ukraine’s border guards claim to have repelled a Russian raid in the city of Bakhmut in Donetsk.
In a statement issued on January 18, Ukraine’s border guards said that Russian troops had tried to penetrate a Ukrainian defense post in the city of Bakhmut, Donetsk region. However, the Russian raiding force was met with fierce resistance by Ukrainian border guards and was forced to withdraw.
“In order to prevent a raid by pro-Russian forces, our soldiers have made a fierce resistance and at the same time called for more reinforcements. The enemy’s attack plan has thus suffered a failure.”, the notice of the Ukrainian border guards wrote.
In the above announcement, Ukrainian border guards also confirmed that the fighting in Bakhmut lasted about 2 hours. 12 Russian soldiers were removed from combat after this failed raid attempt. Ukrainian artillery is said to have also played an important role in repelling the Russian raid.
Recently, the Russian military has mobilized many soldiers and heavy weapons to quickly control the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged that “much fierce fighting” is taking place in this area, and affirmed that Ukrainian military forces will do their best to hold the battleground.
In a statement in late December, Andrey Marochko, an officer with the self-proclaimed separatist militia of the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR), said intelligence obtained by the Russian military confirmed the force of the Russian military. Ukrainian defense forces in Bakhmut are urgently arrayed to prepare for fierce street battles in the near future.
