Russians switch tactics and keep pressuring Bakhmut: over 150 attacks during past 24 hours

Russian troops have attacked Ukrainian military positions near Bakhmut 151 times in the course of the past 24 hours.

Source: Suspilne [Ukraine’s public broadcaster], citing Serhii Cherevatyi, spokesman for the Eastern Group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine; NYT

Quote: "Yampolivka, Spirne, Rozdolivka, Blahodatne, Krasna Hora, Bakhmut, Klishchiivka, Paraskoviivka [settlements were attacked – ed.]. There were 56 attacks and 13 combat clashes near Soledar. The enemy suffered considerable losses during the day."

Details: Cherevatyi said that 360 Russian soldiers were killed and 290 were wounded over one day. 

Ukrainian fighters and analysts say that Moscow has been relying on a cruder tactic: trying to tip the city into its win column through the sheer weight of troop numbers. As a result, the Ukrainians say, Russian casualties in recent fighting in Bakhmut have been higher than in previous months.

Quote: "Part of Russia’s evolving strategy appears to be to overwhelm Ukrainian defences with waves of soldiers, many drawn from President Vladimir V. Putin’s call-up of 300,000 men in September."

Details: That would be a departure from Moscow’s summer campaigns elsewhere in the Donbas, when artillery pounded cities for weeks before Russia launched a sustained ground offensive.

Background: On 31 January, 42 combat encounters between Ukrainian troops and Russian occupiers took place near the city of Bakhmut over the day, Cherevatyi reported.

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