Russian Federation moves additional battalions to Bakhmut - intelligence

The British Defence Ministry has said that the Russian command moved additional forces near Bakhmut because Moscow still considers the town to be one of the strategic points on the front.

Over the past four days, Russia has probably redeployed several battalions to reinforce the Bakhmut area," British intelligence noted.

British Intelligence noted that this followed tactical successes of Ukrainian troops on the flanks of Bakhmut and publicly expressed doubts about the readiness of the Wagner PMC mercenaries to continue combat operations in this direction.

With Russia likely to have relatively few uncommitted combat units in Ukraine, the redeployment is a notable commitment on the part of the Russian command," the scouts said.

The Kremlin continues to view the capture of Bakhmut as a key immediate military objective, which will allow it to claim some success in the war against Ukraine, the British intelligence officers added.

In her turn, Deputy Defence Minister Anna Malyar confirmed that the Russian invaders had moved several thousand more occupiers to the Bakhmut direction, and very heavy fighting was continuing.

The enemy cannot win by quality, so it takes quantity. In particular, it has increased the presence of troops in the Bakhmut direction by several thousand men and is trying to use its advantage in heavy artillery and the number of shells. The Russian troops continue to attack at the cost of heavy losses, which are disproportionately higher than our losses," she said.

The deputy minister added that in the suburbs of Bakhmut on 19 May, the pace of the defenders' advance decreased slightly. At the same time, the enemy fails to regain lost positions.