Ukraine War, 19 February 2023: Bakhmut

Hello everybody!

Hello everybody!

Just a short one today, because I’m short on time while there are ever more reports indicating something like ‘general counteroffensive’ of the ZSU in the Bakhmut area.

Specifically: ZSU is heavily shelling the area east of the Shchedra Street (eastern Bakhmut), plus there are reports about destruction of multiple VSRF artillery pieces all the way from Pokrovske down to Vershyna (villages east of Bakhmut).

Indeed, RUMINT has it the VSRF already had to withdraw one of its artillery brigades from there, because this was rendered unfit to combat due to the losses of its MSTA-S self-propelled howitzers. Apparently, one of its artillery regiments should be ‘on the way out’, too…

Foremost, Ukrainian ground attacks are reported from: 
- North: in the Paraskoviivka area,
- East: along the Patrice Lumumba Street, and 
- South: in the Optyne area.

Details are still scarce, though, and there’s no true cross-confirmation, but multiple sources are indicating ‘advance’. Perhaps as important is that the pro-Putin social media all ‘switched to geo-politics’, as of this morning — as always when they’re losing.

Notable is also that the Russians seem to have very few tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles in the Bakhmut area. Actually, most of those that can be seen on videos from yesterday or today are either Ukrainian, or burning Russian wreckage. Some say, VSRF’s tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles were withdrawn due to losses, so they’re trying to save what’s left. Me thinks, might be because the units deployed in the Bakhmut area now are principally VDV and what’s left of Wagner (if this is still around).

Finally, bitter fighting is reported from the ‘Berkhivka’ area: should be about 10km north of Bakhmut. The Russians are said to have taken the place, then Ukrainians pushed them out, and now Russians are attacking again….

BTW, a new appearance on the battlefield (at least for me) is also this: Khorunzhiy APC, which is a major Ukrainian upgrade of the old BTR-60 armoured personnel carrier. Gauging by the vegetation, though, this one was ‘sighted’ somewhere in the Kremina area.

In turn, the majority of Russians videos from that area is shown their infantry hunkering in its trenches, while the light self-propelled artillery is ‘blasting around’. At least to me, that’s not looking like a lots of ‘advance’…