Ukrainian forces eliminating Wagner mercenaries near Bakhmut - General Staff

The operational situation remains most difficult in the Donetsk direction, with Russian forces suffering devastating losses near Bakhmut.

Brigadier General Oleksii Hromov, Deputy Chief of the Main Operational Department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said this at a briefing on Thursday, commenting on the situation on the frontline, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"Recently, in the Donbas direction, the enemy has been conducting offensive operations outside Makiivka, Torske, Bilohorivka, and Skhidne, but achieved no success. The enemy launched missile strikes on the positions of our troops and civilian infrastructure outside Lyman, Dibrova, Kramatorsk districts and airstrikes outside Makiivka, Terny, Bilohorivka and Spirne," Hromov said.

He also noted that on the Bakhmut axis, enemy forces had been conducting offensive operations near Berestove, Soledar, Bakhmut, Ivanhrad, Ozarianivka, and Maiorsk. In addition, Russian troops launched a missile attack on civilian infrastructure outside Druzhkivsk and airstrikes near the settlements of Yakovlivka, Soledar, and Bakhmut.

Hromov noted that the enemy was suffering devastating losses in the Bakhmut direction. In just 24 hours, losses in the Wagner private military company amounted to 138 people, a third of them - 40 soldiers – killed and others wounded. According to the brigadier general, even most of those wounded will never see their loved ones again.

The enemy carried out airstrikes on Ukrainian positions outside 12 settlements.

In the Zaporizhzhia direction, the enemy unsuccessfully attacked Ukrainian positions outside Shcherbaky. Russian forces launched missile attacks on civilian infrastructure outside Huliaipole, Kushchove, Zaporizhzhia, etc.

Airstrikes were also carried out on the city of Dnipro and on the positions of Ukrainian troops near Zaliznychne, Bilohiria, Shcherbaky, Mali Shcherbaky and Stepove.

In addition, according to Hromov, in the Kherson region, the enemy has launched five missile strikes on civilian infrastructure and 31 airstrikes on the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces outside nine settlements since the beginning of this week.