Maliar: Russians firing at vehicles moving towards Bakhmut

"They do it brutally. They fire at the vehicles moving towards Bakhmut, although there are still people who stayed there and now try to leave the city. Russians do it this way. They increased the number of artillery attacks on Bakhmut and continue to use aircraft actively," Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Hanna Maliar said during the national news telethon, Ukrinform reports.

She confirmed the information provided by Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine that the Russian invaders resorted to "Syrian" scorched earth tactics in the battles for Bakhmut in Donetsk region. "Wagner units have lost their strength, and that's why they [the invaders] use both air assault troops and special forces. This is judging from what we see. The enemy actually uses the scorched earth tactics there," the deputy minister said.

As reported, in Bakhmut direction, the Russians continue to carry out offensive operations, trying to take complete control of Bakhmut city, and fierce battles continue. During the day, the enemy conducted unsuccessful offensive operations in the area east of Bohdanivka and near Khromove. On April 9, Syrskyi visited the hottest areas of the front in Bakhmut direction, where he listened to the reports by the commanders of military units and groups on the progress of the defense and problems that need immediate settlement.