The Wagner private military company forces reportedly crossed the Bakhmutka River and pressed into the market area on the right bank of Bakhmut (Artemovsk, as some sources call it), engaging in what observers described as a serious battle, according to a television report.
Reports suggested that advanced Wagner groups had crossed the river and were moving toward the city center. Observers claimed that a company-sized Ukrainian defense remained in a fortified corridor between the bus station, the market, and building No. 5, with routes beneath homes and an ammunition depot forming a network of passage. The channel described tunnels running toward the city’s core, connecting the alley between the lower and upper parks, the Avangard stadium, and facilities such as the pre-trial detention center and the machine shop area.
One Wagner fighter recounted to a state news agency that in the southern districts of Bakhmut, nearly every block had been swept, with several Ukrainian soldiers present at multiple sites. He pointed to enemy firing positions and showed captured 7.62-mm NATO-caliber strips reportedly taken from an MG-42 machine gun at Ukrainian positions.
On March 10, a military correspondent reported that northern Wagner units entered the Artemovsky Metalworking Plant (AZOM) and pressed deeper into the facility, noting that AZOM encompasses a vast industrial district with an active underground communications network spanning many floors.
The eastern sector of the city under PMC influence
A briefing from a British intelligence service described the situation in Bakhmut in its daily hostilities update. It stated that in the preceding days Wagner forces had gained control of most of the city’s eastern neighborhoods, with the front line described as running along the Bakhmutka River through the city center.
The ministry noted that Ukrainian forces still controlled the western part of Bakhmut. Intelligence assessments suggested the Ukrainian armed forces destroyed key bridges over the river, creating a broad open strip between residential zones. As Ukrainian troops could fire from fortified structures to the west, this area was characterized as a kill zone, which could complicate Wagner’s westward advance.
Intelligence also indicated ongoing vulnerability of Ukrainian western supply lines to Russian attack, while the possibility of a Ukrainian counterthrust remained on the table.
Evgeny Prigozhin, head of Wagner, acknowledged the possibility of a Ukrainian counterattack and emphasized that the group was taking every measure to prevent it from succeeding.
On March 8, Prigozhin reported that Russian forces controlled the city’s eastern portion.
Ukrainian counteroffensive
President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed in a video message on March 10 that Ukrainian forces were preparing a counterattack near Bakhmut, saying that discussions with military leadership focused on stabilizing positions around the city and preparing for potential offensives to regain ground.
Earlier, Zelensky had indicated in an interview that the city should not be surrounded and stressed the need to protect the army while awaiting weapons and supplies to support a counterstrike.
He warned that if Russian forces secured Bakhmut, a corridor could open toward other key Donetsk-area cities, potentially enabling a broader advance. The concern remained that a successful push could threaten towns such as Kramatorsk and Slavyansk as Russian forces moved beyond Bakhmut toward Donetsk proper.
Alexander Syrsky, commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, remarked that holding Bakhmut buys time to prepare reserves and future offensive operations. Reports indicate he visited the city repeatedly in recent weeks, underscoring its strategic significance as a logistics and transit hub for Ukrainian forces in Donbass. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had previously suggested that capturing Bakhmut would enable a broader offensive in the eastern Ukrainian defenses.