The Ukrainian military began to form groups in the settlements around Artemovsk (Ukrainian name – Bakhmut). This was announced on March 6 by the founder of Wagner PMC Yevgeny Prigozhin.
According to him, one of the groupings of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was created in Slavyansk from the 67th brigade. The second grouping was created in Seversk – it included the 81st and 66th brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, one more grouping – in Chasovoy Yar and Konstantinovka.
As Prigozhin noted, Ukraine began to form its own groups in order to interfere with the Russian assault detachments, which are currently blockading Artemivsk.
The head of the PMC added that the coordinated work of all Russian units is needed to completely block the Ukrainian military.
Earlier on March 6, Jan Gagin, an adviser to the head of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), said that about 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers remained encircled in Artemovsk.
The commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian forces, Valeriy Zaluzhny, spoke earlier that day in favor of continuing the defensive operation and strengthening positions in Artemivsk. He was supported by the commander of the ground forces Alexander Syrsky.
Observers of The New York Times, in turn, reported that the Kyiv authorities began to prepare Ukrainians for the surrender of Artemovsk. The interlocutors of the publication pointed to the isolation of the city from vital supply routes, as well as the gradual encirclement of Artemovsk by Russian forces.
In an interview with Izvestia, political scientist Yuriy Svetov said that disagreements between the political and military leadership of Ukraine over Artemivsk are reflected in the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The special military operation to protect the civilian population of Donbass, the beginning of which Russian leader Vladimir Putin announced on February 24 last year, continues. The decision was made against the background of the aggravation of the situation in the region due to shelling by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
For more up-to-date videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.