Ukraine Reports 39 Clashes In Bakhmut, Zelensky Claims 1,100 Russian Soldiers Killed In Days

Ukraine and Russia have reported heavy casualties as the slow, grinding fight for control of Bakhmut continues in the Donetsk region. Ukraine said that a total of 39 military clashes have occurred in the Bakhmut direction over the past day. Ukraine’s military said its forces killed 532 Russian troops in the Bakhmut direction on March 12. The Russian ministry said its forces had killed more than 220 Ukrainian service members over the past 24 hours. Ukraine’s General Staff said the city of Sloviansk, located about 59 kms northwest from Bakhmut, has come under heavy attack. Wagner Group Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has admitted that Ukraine is fighting fiercely in Bakhmut. Meanwhile, Ukrainian commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said the Wagner troops are trying to break into central Bakhmut. Zelensky has awarded the Hero of Ukraine to a soldier whose execution by machine gun fire was filmed by Russian forces. A group of Russian wives and and mothers have called on Putin to stop sending their husbands and sons “to the slaughter”.