LUGANSK, March 7. /TASS/. The Ukrainian armed forces’ command is strengthening its grouping of forces in Artyomovsk (Ukrainian name - Bakhmut) in the Donetsk People’s Republic to prevent Russian forces from completely encircling the city, Retired Lieutenant Colonel Andrey Marochko of the Lugansk People’s Republic’s People’s Militia told TASS on Tuesday.
"The command of the Ukrainian armed forces is trying to prevent a complete encirclement of Artyomovsk. That is why they redeploy more or less combat-ready units to the west of the town. Positions in the area of supply roads have been reinforced," he said on Tuesday, citing Russian intelligence.
Marochko also noted that the Ukrainian forces stepped up artillery operations and were shelling Russian troops from the town of Chasov Yar.
On Monday, Wagner PMC founder Yevgeny Prigozhin said that the Ukrainian military would fight for Artyomovsk to the bitter end. The Ukrainian command created four groups of forces to block Russian troops.
Artyomovsk is located in the Kiev-controlled part of the Donetsk People’s Republic and is an important transport hub for supplying the Ukrainian troops in Donbass. Fierce fighting for the city is underway. On February 16, DPR’s acting leader Denis Pushilin said that Russian forces had taken all the major heights near Artyomovsk.