Russia Claims to Take Blahodatne, Site of Heaviest Fighting with Ukraine

MOSCOW – Military Russia said on Tuesday (31/1/2023) that its troops had taken control of Blahodatne, a village north of Bakhmut in Ukraine east. The region has been the scene of some of the heaviest fighting in recent weeks.

The Russian Defense Ministry, as quoted Reuterssaid Blahodatne, about 5 km north of Bakhmut, was captured with the help of air support.

Claims of Russian military advances on the battlefield cannot be independently verified.

Also read: Mozart’s Mercenary Group Trains Ukrainian Soldiers Kills Russian Soldiers

The Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary group designated by the United States as a transnational criminal organization, said last Saturday that its unit had taken control of Blahodatne. But Kiev said it had repelled attacks on the village.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia’s attacks on the east were relentless despite heavy casualties on Moscow’s side. He said the attack was in retaliation for the success of Kiev forces in pushing Moscow troops out of the capital, northeastern and southern Ukraine at the start of the conflict.

“I think Russia really wants a big revenge. I think they (already) started it,” Zelensky said.

“Every day they are bringing in more of their regular troops, or we are seeing an increase in Wagner numbers,” he told reporters in the southern port city of Odesa.

(min)