Russian forces forging ahead to take control of Bakhmut city in Donbas -

Moscow: Russian forces are forging ahead to take control of Bakhmut, one of the strategic cities in the Donbas region. The Russian Army has captured three strategic locations near the city. Ukrainian authorities have acknowledged that intense fighting is occurring in Bakhmut and nearby areas, and President Zelensky has also confirmed it.

Meanwhile, Russia has appointed General Sergei Surovikin as the new top commander for its military campaign in Ukraine. General Surovikin, who has experience in operations in Chechnya and Syria, is known as ‘General Armageddon’ in the Russian Army. After the strategic successes in Kharkiv, Lyman and Kherson, the Ukrainian regime appeared to be becoming more aggressive. Ukraine’s growing aggressiveness was seen in the announcement of closing the channels of discussion with Russia, the demand with NATO to attack Russia and the attack on the Crimea bridge. While Ukraine was taking an extreme position, the Western media had created a picture of Russia retreating to some extent. Russian retreat was confirmed by the statements of some media, social media and analysts in Russia.

Against this backdrop, the missile attacks in Zaporizhia, the ongoing advance near Bakhmut and the appointment of a new commander indicate a restructuring of the Russian campaign. Although Russia has annexed the Zaporizhia region, most of it is still under Ukrainian control. It includes the city of Zaporizhia. On Sunday, Russia fired more than 20 missiles at the city. It includes missiles of the S-300 system along with cruise missiles. It is said that Russia used fighter jets for this attack. Ukraine reported that there was a large number of casualties in the attack.

On the other hand, Russia has managed to advance towards the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, which is part of the Donbas region. In the two days of October 6th and 7th, Russian forces captured three strategic locations near Bakhmut. A fierce battle for control of the city of Bakhmut has begun and Ukrainian troops are finding it difficult to defend the city. Ukrainian President Zelensky confirmed this and said that intense fighting was going on. The city of Bakhmut is considered vital as it is part of the highway connecting Donetsk and the capital Kyiv.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, Russia announced the appointment of a new official as commander for special operations in Ukraine. This officer is General Sergei Surovikin and he currently holds the post of Chief of the Aerospace Forces of Russia. He led operations in southern Ukraine and the Luhansk region during the Ukraine campaign. Before that, he played an important role in the Russian military campaign in Syria. He was awarded the title of ‘Hero of Russia’ by President Putin for his efforts in capturing the city of Aleppo. Last week, it was revealed that Putin has also promoted Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov in the Army.