General Staff remains silent about fighting in Bakhmut, ISW explains why

The Institute for the Study of War has reported that the Ukrainian General Staff did not report on fighting in Bakhmut for the first time since December 2022, suggesting that Wagner Group Private Military Company forces may have made further advances within the city.

Source: ISW

Details: Analysts recall that Ukrainian officials stated that the pace of fighting in the Bakhmut direction has decreased amid continued limited Ukrainian counterattacks on Bakhmut’s flanks on 23 May.

At the same time, ISW states that the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine did not report fighting in the city of Bakhmut in its 18:00 situational report for the first time since December 2022, proposing that Wagner Group forces may have made further advances within the city.

The General Staff also reported that Russian forces conducted unsuccessful offensive actions near Khromove (immediately west of Bakhmut).

The report points out that Russian authorities ended the "counterterrorism" operation in Belgorod Oblast and claimed to have defeated the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK) and the Freedom of Russia Legion (LSR) in the region on 23 May.

The Russian Ministry of Defence claimed that Western Military District Border Guards units defeated the raid and expelled all "saboteurs" from Belgorod Oblast.

Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov announced that the "counterterrorism" operation had ended but called on civilians who evacuated to wait before returning to the border settlements.

Analysts say that Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not hold an emergency meeting of the Russian Security Council to discuss the Belgorod raid but will instead discuss the situation during the Security Council’s planned 26 May meeting, likely in an effort to project confidence about Russian handling of the situation.

Russian forces likely pushed the RDK and LSR forces at least to the Kozinka border settlement, located approximately 76 km southeast of Sumy.

The LSR claimed that LSR and RDK personnel continued to operate in Belgorod Oblast on 23 May, however.

To quote the ISW’s key takeaways for 24 May:

• Russian authorities ended the "counterterrorism" operation in Belgorod Oblast and claimed to have defeated the all-Russian pro-Ukrainian Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK) and the Freedom of Russia Legion (LSR) in the region on 23 May.
• Russian forces likely pushed the RDK and LSR forces at least to the Kozinka border settlement and possibly out of Russian territory as of May 23.
• Russian sources claimed that Ukrainian forces conducted raids across the Kharkiv-Belgorod border on May 23, but ISW has observed no confirmation that these raids occurred.
• Ukrainian officials stated that the pace of fighting in the Bakhmut direction has decreased amid continued limited Ukrainian counterattacks on Bakhmut’s flanks on May 23.
• Russian forces conducted limited ground attacks northeast of Kupyansk and along the Svatove-Kreminna line.
• Russian forces continued offensive operations on the Avdiivka-Donetsk City line.
• Russian forces continued defensive operations in southern Ukraine ahead of the planned Ukrainian counteroffensive.
• Pardoned Wagner Group convicts continue to commit crimes in Russia after finishing their military contracts with Wagner.
• Zaporizhia Oblast occupation officials announced the start of preliminary voting for the ruling United Russia party.

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