MOSCOW, May 25. /TASS/. The Ukrainian military is highly likely to launch an attempt to retake Artyomovsk (called Bakhmut by Ukraine) and amassed enemy manpower and equipment are observed close to the city, Yan Gagin, adviser to the acting head of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), said on Thursday.

"Near Chasov Yar and on the flanks, some amassment of the enemy’s equipment and manpower is observed, that is, there will still be an attempt to retake the city [Artyomovsk], I believe. It [the attempt] is highly likely, but it is a big question of how successful it will be because not only the city itself but also all the roads are controlled by our artillery and aviation at this moment," the adviser said in a live broadcast on Russia's Television Channel One.

Acting DPR Head Denis Pushilin said on May 24 that the situation on the flanks had stabilized and the peak of tensions was over. Several days before the city’s liberation, he said that the situation on the flanks was uneasy, active fighting was in progress and the Ukrainian military was redeploying its reserves to the area.

Artyomovsk is located in the north of the Donetsk People’s Republic and was a major transportation hub for the Ukrainian army’s supplies in Donbass and a powerful stronghold. The battles for the city began on August 1, 2022 and became some of the most large-scale combats in the liberation of Donbass since 2014. The city was home to some 72,000 people before the battles began. Russian forces completed the liberation of Artyomovsk on May 20, 2023.