The frequency of attacks in the Bakhmut direction “has decreased,” according to Serhii Cherevatyi, the spokesman for the Eastern Grouping of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Speaking to CNN, Cherevatyi said that this was “very unusual for this part of the frontline,” adding that a reason for this is the “significant exhaustion, losses and regrouping” of Russian units.
“There were two combat engagements over the past 24 hours. Over the previous two days, there were three combat engagements each,” he said.
Speaking about the Wagner withdrawal from Bakhmut — which the organization's chief Yevgeny Prigozhin says began at 5am local time on Thursday — Cherevatyi said “we cannot confirm that,” adding “we will be able to verify the details of which units will regroup and when. In any case we will take advantage of this.”
Some background: Prigozhin claimed on Saturday to have captured Bakhmut after months of brutal fighting, saying he would hand it over to Russia later in May.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelesnky initially rebutted Prigozhin’s claims, telling the G7 summit in Japan that his forces were still fighting in Bakhmut.
Ukraine’s deputy defense minister Hanna Maliar said this week that Ukrainian forces still held a small part of the city, but also claimed that fighting inside the city has “decreased.”