The Voice of America (VOA) and the British daily Independent reported on the 10th that Ukrainian forces defeated the 72nd Automatic Rifle Brigade, the most elite unit of the Russian Army, on the Bahmut front in the eastern battleground.
According to the media, the Ukrainian Army’s 3rd Assault Brigade said in a statement that day, “The Russian 72nd Brigade has withdrawn from the strategically important Bakhmut Front to the outskirts.”
Andriy Viletsky of the Azou Regiment in Ukraine said, “Actually, the 6th and 7th battalions under the command of the Russian 72nd brigade were almost completely wiped out on the Bakhmut front, and the intelligence unit was also destroyed.”
“Many of the combat vehicles used by the Russians were destroyed and many of their troops were captured,” Viletsky explained.
At the same time, Viletsky added, the operation that succeeded in defeating the Russian 72nd Brigade took place “within Ukrainian territory 3 km wide and 2.6 km deep, completely liberated from the Russian occupying forces.”
Ukrainian army commander Oleksandr Shirsky also confirmed that as a result of the counteroffensive, Russian forces had retreated up to 2 km from Bahmut.
Previously, Yevgeny Prigozin, the head of the Russian mercenary company ‘Wagner Group’, said that the Russian army was retreating from Bahmut on the 9th.
Ukraine’s announcement of Bakhmut’s defeat supports Prigozhin’s assertion that the Russian army was defeated.
Russian Army brigades are usually formed with thousands of men. The Russian side has yet to respond to reports that the 72nd Brigade has abandoned its positions after suffering a devastating blow southwest of Bakhmut.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian military authorities released a video on social media on the 10th of soldiers from the 2nd Battalion of the 3rd Assault Brigade storming the base of a subordinate unit of the 72nd Brigade of the Russian Army.
The US think tank Institute for Warfare (ISW) also tweeted footage of Russian troops fleeing from Bahmut.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.