UKRAINE: THE SITUATION 449 - MAY 16, 2023

The Russian Armed Forces have likely committed to intensifying their tactical offensive efforts in the Bakhmut region, even as Ukraine appears to focus on limited and localized counterattacks.

The head of the Donetsk People's Republic (DNR), Denis Pushilin, claimed on May 16 that the Russian armed forces had reinforced their forces in the Bakhmut area to stabilize the situation, and a prominent Russian military blogger suggests that four unspecified Russian battalions have been stationed on the flanks around Bakhmut to prevent Ukrainian breakthroughs. Russian claims of reinforcements align with the statement from Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar on May 15 that Russian forces are deploying additional airborne troops (VDV) to defend the flanks of Bakhmut, likely from other areas of the front. The Russian Armed Forces have continued to make minor gains in Bakhmut itself on May 16, and the Russian Ministry of Defense continues to claim that Russian forces around Bakhmut are focusing on repelling Ukrainian counterattacks. The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed on May 16 that elements of the 4th Motorized Rifle Brigade (2nd Army Corps of the Luhansk People's Republic) repulsed ten Ukrainian counterattacks near Ivanivske (6 km west of Bakhmut).

The ongoing glorification of violence by the Wagner group is evident in a widely circulated video allegedly showing a killed American volunteer in Bakhmut.

The full Russian Offensive Update 449 is available directly from UNDERSTANDING WAR.

UNDERSTANDING WAR online