Russia says two commanders were killed as kyiv wages Bakhmut offensive

May 14 (Reuters) – Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Sunday that two of its military commanders were killed in eastern Ukraine, as Kiev forces renewed their efforts to break through Russian defenses in the besieged city of Bakhmut.

In a daily briefing, the ministry said commander Vyacheslav Makarov of the 4th Motor Rifle Brigade and deputy commander Yevgeny Brovko of a separate unit were killed trying to repel Ukrainian attacks.

He said that Makarov had been leading troops from the front line and that Brovko “died heroically, suffering multiple shrapnel wounds.” The Ministry of Defense rarely announces the death of a military commander in its daily reports.

He also said that Ukrainian forces launched attacks in northern and southern Bakhmut over the past 24 hours, but had not broken through Russian defenses. “All attacks by units of the Ukrainian armed forces have been repelled,” he said.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of Wagner’s mercenary force that led much of the Russian advance on Bakhmut, said his forces had advanced up to 130 meters (400 feet) in the past 24 hours.

Prigozhin, in an audio statement on Telegram, said his forces controlled 28 multi-story buildings in the western Bakhmut districts where Ukrainian troops were still operating.

Ukrainian forces, he said, were occupying 20 buildings and a total area of ​​1.69 square kilometers (0.65 square miles).

Reuters was unable to independently verify Russia’s account.

Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar confirmed on Sunday that Ukrainian forces “continue to advance in the Bakhmut sector in the suburbs.”

“Our units captured more than ten enemy positions in the north and south of Bakhmut and cleared a large area of ​​forest near Ivanivske. Enemy soldiers from different units were captured,” he said on the Telegram messaging app.

Neither Ukrainian nor Russian forces have been able to take full control of the city, despite months of grueling warfare that has inflicted heavy losses on both sides.

Moscow acknowledged Friday that its forces had fallen back north of Bakhmut amid a wave of Ukrainian attacksbut kyiv has downplayed suggestions that a long-planned major counter-offensive has officially begun.

Reporting from Reuters Editing by David Goodman

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