Russia says it struck three Ukrainian army groups near Bakhmut

Russia said on Wednesday its forces had struck three Ukrainian army groups near Bakhmut, amid conflicting reports about fighting in the area.

 Russia’s RIA news agency cited a Russian army source as saying that Russian forces had successfully repelled a Ukrainian attack there without retreating and were finishing off the remainder of Ukrainian troops in the area.

 Russian paratroopers repelled a Ukrainian offensive in the Artyomovsk direction through the effort of drone crews, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Wednesday, adding that the enemy sustained heavy losses in both manpower and Western-made equipment.

"Russian assault-landing teams successfully repelled a Ukrainian offensive in the southern flanks near Artyomovsk," the Defense Ministry said in a statement. "Drone crews of an airborne unit detected several groups of Ukrainian nationalists, aided by armored combat vehicles, advancing toward our positions. The coordinates were sent to an artillery command post," it added.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Russian paratroopers met the advancing Ukrainian units with heavy artillery gun fire, destroying large numbers of enemy personnel and equipment, including Western-made pieces. As a result, the Ukrainians retreated, having sustained heavy losses and abandoning their casualties on the battlefield.