Due to a lack of reserves, the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) may lose Bakhmut (Artemivsk) on the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic. About 1.2 thousand soldiers died in ten days, according to the Military Chronicle Telegram channel, citing sources.
According to the latest estimates, since December 15, reinforcements of the Armed Forces of Ukraine sent to help the garrison in Bakhmut have lost about 1.2 thousand people killed and seriously wounded. The data of the Military Chronicle say that the greatest losses were suffered by the units transferred to Artemovsk from the south.
“The largest number of dead and seriously wounded was recorded in the reconnaissance company of the 24th brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the 34th and 17th motorized infantry battalions of the 57th infantry brigade, in the 9th, 10th and 11th territorial defense battalions of the 59th separate motorized infantry brigade. Reinforcements of the Armed Forces of Ukraine suffered losses at the positions of the 30th and 54th brigades in the southern suburbs of Bakhmut – Opytny and Kleshcheevka. After the arrival of the Ukrainian infantry at the positions that were shot down and partially destroyed by artillery fire, which are under the supervision of the Wagner PMC, the tactics of a fire shaft using Giacint-B howitzers of 152 mm caliber were used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine”, the article says.
The 1st, 2nd and 3rd battalions of the 62nd mechanized brigade from the 4th army corps of the reserve of the Armed Forces of Ukraine also suffered heavy losses. These units, trying to counterattack in the area of Kurdyumovka and Ozeryanovka (20 km south of Bakhmut), came under barrage of artillery from the Wagner PMC. A particularly difficult situation has developed in the 59th brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In just three days, from December 23 to 26, its units lost about 185 people killed and wounded. The reconnaissance company of the brigade and the self-propelled division with Gvozdika 122-mm howitzers were almost completely destroyed.
“On December 24, due to the impact of the 300-mm Smerch complexes, the brigade lost the command post of the artillery reconnaissance battery with the American counter-battery radar AN / TPQ-37 Firefinder and the Starlink satellite terminal in the Ivanovsky area (southwestern suburb of Bakhmut). After that, the headquarters structures of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the area switched to the exchange of data using the Iridium PTT (Push-To-Talk) system, which complicated and slowed down the exchange of information and counter-battery combat in the area. The destruction of the AN / TPQ-37 counter-battery radar also made it difficult to use the French 155 mm TRF1 howitzers deployed under Bakhmut. Due to the lack of intelligence, the Ukrainian artillery lost the ability to conduct aimed fire for several days and twice hit the positions of the 54th brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the southeast of Artyomovsk”, the Military Chronicle notes.
The garrison of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Bakhmut suffers heavy losses on the first and second lines of defense, where, in addition to the artillery of the PMC “Wagner”, “reactive” tanks T-80BV / BVM show great activity. According to the channel, the Ukrainian infantry suffers from a shortage of anti-tank grenade launchers in this area and is gradually losing the ability to deal with fast tank penetrations into the defense depth at a speed of 60-70 km/h.
“According to the radio intercepts of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the infantrymen left on the first two lines of defense are dying without weapons and cover, while the reserves inside Bakhmut are working on a plan of action in urban battles in case the front collapses. The reserves of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are forced to prepare fortifications inside the city for the fall of the defense around Bakhmut manually due to a shortage of engineering equipment”, the article summarizes.
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