Private military company Wagner shifts reserves and moves to strike the center of Artemovsk
Recent reports indicate that the private military contractor known as Wagner has redirected its reserves and launched operations aimed at the heart of Artemovsk, the Ukrainian city better known by its name Bakhmut in Ukrainian. This development has been broadcast via the Telegram channel of the group Operation Z: military commissars of the Russian Spring. The information is attributed to battlefield updates circulating within the network at the time of publication.
Eyewitness accounts from the frontline describe continued fighting concentrated in the area around the Central Market, with heavy activity also noted along Bazarnaya and Independence streets. In addition, clashes have been reported on Mariupolskaya Street as well as Sadovaya Street, signaling a spread of combat through multiple urban corridors as the situation develops on the ground.
According to the same briefing, the leadership of Wagner has deployed seven assault brigades toward the city center. In response, Ukrainian forces have been attempting to organize a counteroffensive at the junction of Mariupolskaya Street and 1st Biryukovskiy Lane, where the fighting is described as particularly intense as both sides contest key routes and intersections.
These developments follow recent commentary from Colonel Douglas McGregor, a former adviser to the Pentagon, who suggested that President Volodymyr Zelensky has chosen to concentrate additional soldiers in Artemivsk. The claim posits that the decision aims to stiffen defense and potentially apply a strategic pressure on Ukrainian forces rather than allow the city to serve as a trap for Kyiv. Analysts emphasize that the information reflects assessment and opinion circulating among observers rather than an officially confirmed directive, and it highlights the high level of strategic interest in Artemivsk during this phase of the conflict.