Abused Russians flee Bakhmut after Ukrainians use the meat grinder town to lure them “like rats into a mousetrap.”
UKRAINE has described fleeing Russian soldiers in bomb-stricken Bakhmut as “rats climbing into a mousetrap”.
The humiliated troops of Vladimir Putin are retreating to the region where Ukraine launched a counterattack last week.
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Kiev says its tactics in the “meat grinder” battle are to attract Putin’s troops and weaken their frontline defenses elsewhere.
Ukraine’s 3rd Assault Brigade used tanks and infantry to advance 1,000 meters across farmland south of the city in recent days as panic spread through Russian lines.
Bakhmut has endured the longest and bloodiest battle of the war so far as Ukraine’s spring counteroffensive looms.
The Sun’s Jerome Starkey described it as a “WWI-style hellscape of craters, barbed wire and battlefield trenches,” as he reported this week from a secret underground bunker.
Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin had to admit that it was “unlikely” that the ailing Russian forces would achieve victory over Bakhmut in the coming days.
“It is unlikely that Bakhmut will be fully captured tomorrow or the day after,” Prigozhin wrote on Telegram, reporting fierce fighting in the city’s southwestern suburbs.
Kiev’s land forces commander, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, said in a video posted to social media: “Wagner troops climbed into Bakhmut like rats into a mousetrap,” reports Reuters.
He told Ukrainian troops this week: “The enemy has more resources, but we are destroying their plans.”
Deputy Defense Minister of Ukraine Hanna Maliar said Kiev advanced about a kilometer in the northern and southern suburbs of the city.
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Ukraine also said on Tuesday that its forces had retaken 20 square kilometers (7.7 sq mi) north and south of the outskirts of Bakhmut.
But Russia continues to push into the besieged city ahead of Kiev’s planned counterattack, and has launched rocket and drone strikes into Ukraine again this month.
Kiev said its forces advanced by more than a mile in places on the brutal battlefield.
The battle for the city in the Donbass region is the bloodiest and longest since the Russian invasion began on February 24, 2022.
THE BATTLE OF BAKHMUT
The year-long Battle of Bachmut is the bloodiest conflict in Europe since the Second World War.
Tens of thousands of soldiers have died in the embattled Oststadt.
After months of shelling, Russia launched its ground attack in August.
Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed his troops were then dispatched to bolster the Russian effort.
But he missed his own deadlines for capturing the city last year – and is threatening to retire without more ammunition.
In March, Russian troops came close to encircling the city, but have since retreated.
On Tuesday, Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said troops had retaken 12 miles of surrounding land.
But she added, “The enemy is making some advances in the city itself.”
