Russian forces have been grappling with the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut for months — though the city’s strategic role for Russia was not clear to the Western and Ukrainian military. Yevgeny Prigozhin (61), the head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, now claims on Telegram: The object of desire is not necessarily the city of 74,000 itself, but the tunnel system beneath it.
“The icing on the cake is the Soledar and Bakhmut mining system, which is actually a network of underground cities,” Prigozhin said Saturday, according to Reuters. “It can not only accommodate a large group of people at a depth of 80 to 100 meters – it can also move tanks and armored vehicles.” Weapons are said to have been stored in this tunnel system as far back as the First World War.
It is known that in the region around Bachmut there is a network of tunnels of more than 160 kilometers. However, these tunnels belong to mines, including salt and gypsum mines. According to Reuters, US sources said on Thursday that Prigozhin wanted to take control of the region for commercial reasons. There are indications that Russia and Prigozhin’s “obsession” with Bakhmut are driven by financial motives, Reuters quoted an anonymous official as saying.
However, nothing is known about the military use of these facilities mentioned by Prigozhin.
Russians grit their teeth at the “eastern fortress”.
For more than five months, the Russian soldiers have been fiercely trying to take the “eastern fortress” of Bakhmut, but the offensive has repeatedly failed. Prigozhin explained this partial defeat a few weeks ago: “In Bakhmut, every house is a fortress,” said the Wagner boss. His soldiers would fight for every house. “Sometimes they take more than a day to conquer a home, sometimes even weeks.”
The problem lies in the strong defense of the Ukrainian armed forces. Breaking through their defenses is a huge challenge. Prigozhin speaks of hundreds of defense lines scattered around the city. “In Bachmut there is a line of defense every ten meters at least,” says the boss of the mercenary group in the video.
It is unclear how long the fighting in Bakhmut will continue. British military experts believe a major breakthrough by the Russian army is unlikely in the coming weeks. This is evident from the daily intelligence update from the Ministry of Defense in London on Tuesday. (chs)