The Ukrainian battleground of Bakhmut is “completely destroyed” and “unliveable”, Western officials revealed today.
The city, which serves as the administrative centre for the Bakhmut district in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, has been the scene of fierce fighting between Russian invaders and Ukrainian forces trying to repel Vladimir Putin’s troops for weeks.
Bitter combat has unleashed a devastating toll on the area, experts warned.
A Western official said: “There isn’t a city or a town which is left, it wouldn’t resemble what it might have been a year ago.
“Bakhmut is completely destroyed as a town and unliveable by anyone's standards.”
Over the weekend, the head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group claimed he had raised a Russian flag over Bakhmut city hall.
In a night-time video, Yevgeny Prigozhin said it was now Russian "in a legal sense".
But the Western official said: “The Russians at the moment - despite trying for six months with huge numbers of personnel and huge numbers of losses - have been unable to take the town and have made very, very slow progress, despite claims.
“Prigozhin’s claim in the middle of the night to have put up a flag and claim ownership was pretty desperate as a tactic and nobody took him seriously.”
The expert suggested the stunt was “more for internal, Russian consumption” than for Western or Ukrainian audiences.
“We currently believe they are still not in full control of Bakhmut and the Ukrainians are still able to resist the Russian and Wagner forces going forwards there,” they added.
Sources said the Russians were “making very, very slow progress” in Bakhmut and areas north of the city.
The Kremlin advance could be “measured in metres probably rather than any great distance”, they added.
Both Ukrainian and Russian forces were suffering “exhaustion” after more than 13 months of war, they said, with Moscow’s troops continuing “to steadily grind away, taking an increasing number of casualties”.
The intelligence update came as Ukraine’s armed forces prepare for their spring counter offensive.
Kyiv is thought to be planning an assault to retake occupied areas in the south - piling pressure on Russian invaders to defend stolen territory.
It comes as NATO foreign ministers held a crunch two-day summit in Brussels, which included welcoming Finland as the alliance’s 31st member.
Helsinki is a “significant addition to NATO’s armament”, said the Western official.
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