Not more than 4 km to entrap Ukrainian forces in Artyomovsk – Ukrainian officer - TASS

 There are not more than four kilometers left to close in Ukraine’s troops in the city of Artyomovsk, a Ukrainian army unit commander said on Sunday.

"Fighting is going on now right in the streets in Bakhmut (the Ukrainian name for Artyomovsk - TASS). The biggest threat is that the neck of the so-called pocket is not more than four kilometers. There is nothing without logistics - neither rotation nor supplies of munitions," Denis Yaroslavsky told the Espresso TV.

According to the officer, the current situation in Artyomovsk may repeat the developments in Debaltsevo in January-February 2015, when Ukrainian troops were entrapped by the forces of the Donetsk People’s Republic and had to retreat. "We understand that it may be Debaltsevo’s repetition. A similar situation, when roads are blocked and the withdrawal of troops may be a threat to the entire column. It is very dangerous because of this four-kilometer neck," he said.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s media outlet Strana quotes another Ukrainian soldier. "As soon as the Russians take control of the road to Khromovo, Bakhmut will begin to gradually turn from a fortress to a big communal grave. Then, it will have no sense to stay tight-lipped about things that have been irritating for months. Maybe, someone will see treason in them but I wouldn’t give a hood about that. Patience is running out," the Strana quoted a soldier of the Ukrainian army’s 93rd brigade as saying on its Telegram channel.

Artyomovsk is located in the Kiev-controlled part of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR). Fierce fighting for control of the city is underway. According to the latest data, Russian forces have blocked or taken control of all paved roads to the city while the nascent spring mud season is complicating the logistics of supplying the Ukrainian army with fresh ammunition and personnel.

Wagner Private Military Company founder Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Saturday that Russia forces were some 1.2 kilometers from the city’s administrative center. According to commander of the Ukrainian land troops Alexander Syrsky, the fighting around Artyomovsk is meant to win time for the Ukrainian army to accumulate reserves before a winter offensive.