MOSCOW, March 16. /TASS/. Kiev has no plans to withdraw troops from the city of Artyomovsk (called Bakhmut in Ukraine) even though it is facing issues with ammunition supplies, Acting Head of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) Denis Pushilin said on Thursday.
"As for Artyomovsk, the situation remains difficult and complicated. I mean that we don’t see any signs of the enemy planning to simply withdraw troops," he told the Rossiya-24 TV channel.
Pushilin added, however, that "it’s extremely difficult to supply ammunition and food or bring in any reinforcements" along the only road that is now "under even tighter fire control by the Wagner PMC."
The Donetsk leader also said that fighting had moved to the industrial zone, with battles taking place both in the southern and northern parts of the city. According to Pushilin, Ukraine has amassed forces in the city of Chasov Yar.
Artyomovsk, located in the Kiev-controlled part of the Donetsk People’s Republic, is an important transport hub in terms of Ukrainian military supplies. Heavy fighting is raging in the area. According to the latest reports, all paved roads to the city have either been cut off or have come under fire control by Russian artillery, while the spring mud season is seriously impeding the delivery of ammunition and reserves to the entrenched Ukrainian forces. Founder of the Wagner Private Military Company Yevgeny Prigozhin said on March 11 that Russian forces were about 1.2 kilometers from the city’s administrative center.