The situation in Bakhmut is relatively stable as of Saturday, June 3, Deputy Defense Minister of Ukraine Hanna Maliar has said.
“We control the south-western outskirts of the city. The Wagner fighters have not finally left the city. They are instructing the newly arrived units of the regular army,” she said on the Telegram channel.
The Russian troops tried to return their lost positions in the Bakhmut direction but failed, Maliar said.
“The enemy continues to focus its main efforts on the east to reach the borders of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. However, the enemy is unable to move forward due to the strong resistance of our defense forces,” she said.
The deputy minister stressed that the situation has been slightly changing.
“For several months in a row, the enemy has been conducting an offensive in the east in four directions – Avdiyivka, Maryinka, Lyman, and Bakhmut. Later, from time to time, they activated in two more directions – Shakhtarsk and Kupiansk. The enemy did not manage to reach the borders of Donetsk and Luhansk regions over this time. The enemy was exhausted and is replacing and regrouping its troops,” she said.
The Russian occupation forces continue to mount shelling and air attacks in all directions.
The geography of the offensive is slightly different. In three mentioned directions – Bakhmut, Avdiyivka, and Shakhtarsk – the enemy did not conduct offensive operations in the past 24 hours. […] In the other three directions of Kupiansk, Lyman, and Maryinka, the enemy is active and has been conducting rather intensive offensive operations, but did not succeed,” Maliar said.
Russia shells and inflicts air strikes on the borderline districts.
The enemy is defending in Zaporizhia and Kherson regions.