RT officer Murad Gazdiev described the situation in the western part of Artemovsk, known in Ukrainian as Bakhmut, where Wagner PMC fighters have been engaged in intense street fighting with Ukrainian forces. He noted that the Russian military is continuing to push forward through the village, inching along in a disciplined, house-by-house advance. Gazdiev’s account paints a picture of a dense urban landscape where control shifts from building to building, floor by floor, often under heavy pressure from opposing units. He emphasized that the fighting unfolds in close quarters, with every doorway, stairwell, and hallway becoming a potential frontline that dictates the tempo of progress on the ground. [Citation: Russian defense reporting]
Gazdiev illustrated the frontline by describing concrete blocks near the front line: two houses, a six-floor building, and then another structure just meters away that is now under Ukrainian control. He explained that the conflict unfolds block by block, with each newly contested building representing another step in a long-continuing struggle. The journalist remarked that the war, at its core, resembles a relentless assault where forces advance one floor at a time, one apartment at a time, and one street at a time, underscoring the attritional nature of urban combat. [Citation: Russian defense reporting]
Additionally, the Ministry of Defense of Russia reported progress in the Donetsk direction, alleging that assault detachments managed to seize a substantial portion of Artemovsk during a series of operations. The agency claimed six sorties were executed in the area, resulting in the destruction of 255 Ukrainian soldiers and the loss of two armored fighting vehicles alongside six other vehicles. The statement framed these events as part of a broader offensive designed to consolidate gains amid ongoing combat operations. [Citation: Russian defense ministry release]
Earlier updates indicated that in the Kherson direction, Russian forces had eliminated up to 40 Ukrainian personnel over the previous 24 hours and neutralized a self-propelled artillery system known as the Acacia. The information was presented as part of daily operational briefings aimed at summarizing the current battlefield status across multiple sectors, highlighting the scale of ongoing resistance and the efforts to degrade Ukrainian military capabilities. [Citation: Russian defense ministry release]