Ukraine war: Russian tactics on eastern front 'crazy', says Zelensky - BBC

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russian commanders of "craziness" successful their efforts to seizure the eastbound municipality of Bakhmut.

The municipality - which sits successful the Donetsk portion and had a pre-war colonisation of 70,000 - has been the centre of Russian attacks for months.

Despite a looming Ukrainian beforehand connected the cardinal metropolis of Kherson, Mr Zelensky said the attacks continued successful force.

Taking the municipality would beryllium a symbolic triumph for Russia.

"This is wherever the craziness of the Russian bid is astir evident," Mr Zelensky said successful his nightly code from Kyiv. "Day aft day, for months, they are driving radical to their deaths there, concentrating the highest level of artillery strikes."

Oleksiy Arestovych, a elder advisor to Mr Zelensky, said connected 1 time Russian forces launched 8 abstracted attacks connected Bakhmut earlier lunchtime and had been pushed backmost connected each occasion.

The municipality sits connected a main roadworthy starring to the Ukrainian-held cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.

Analysts accidental the municipality has small subject worth successful itself, though if Bakhmut were to autumn it would bring different cities backmost wrong scope of Russian artillery and assistance alteration the communicative of a struggle successful which Moscow's forces person been gradually retreating.

Regular Russian troops successful the portion are reportedly being supported by Wagner paramilitary mercenaries. The group's laminitis Yevgeniy Prigozhin is said to privation to seizure the municipality arsenic a governmental prize.

On Sunday, the mercenary main acknowledged the dilatory gait of the Russian beforehand connected Bakhmut, saying troops were gaining lone "100-200 meters a day".

"Our units are perpetually gathering with the astir fierce force resistance, and I enactment that the force is good prepared, motivated, and works confidently and harmoniously," Mr Prigozhin said successful a connection published by 1 of his companies. "This does not forestall our fighters from moving forward, but I cannot remark connected however agelong it volition take."

Despite the aggravated attacks, Mr Zelensky said Ukrainian forces were holding their crushed and hailed his troops arsenic "heroes".

Ukrainian forces besides proceed to beforehand successful the southbound towards Kherson, wherever Russia has ordered civilians to evacuate.

While Mr Zelensky did not connection a nonstop update connected the advance, helium said his troops were "strengthening our positions everyplace astatine the front, reducing the capabilities of the occupiers, destroying their logistics and preparing bully quality for Ukraine".

But officials successful Kyiv person warned that Russian forces are digging successful astir the metropolis and intercepted vigor reports suggest that recently "mobilised" Russian recruits person been sent determination to enactment up defences.

Mr Arestovych said connected Tuesday that nary Russian forces were preparing to retreat from the metropolis and predicted that "the heaviest of battles is going to instrumentality spot for Kherson".

Oleksii Reznikov, Ukraine's defence minister, said the gait of the beforehand was being hampered by bedewed conditions, making the counter-offensive much hard than the eastbound beforehand that pushed Russian troops rapidly backmost successful September.

Elsewhere, pro-Russian administrators successful the eastbound Luhansk state said Ukrainian forces had again started to beforehand successful the region. They said dense warring is taking spot astir the towns of Kreminna and Svatove, which fell to Russia earlier this year.