Russian assault on Bakhmut continues

ALBAWABA - Russian forces unleashed another wave of assaults on Ukraine's eastern city of Bakhmut Tuesday, but failed to make critical advances in the monthslong battle for the city in the Donetsk region.

"Fierce battles are going on for the city of Bakhmut," the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said, according to Radio Free Europe (RFE). It maintained that the Ukrainian army said that Moscow's main push on the battlefield remained focused on the Bakhmut-Avdiyivka-Maryinka front line.

Russian forces launched 62 air strikes and six missile strikes against Ukrainian military positions and civilian objectives, the General Staff said in its report released Tuesday, according to RFE.

Ukrainian defenders also repelled 43 Russian attacks on Bakhmut and Maryinka, added the report.

Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar described the ongoing fighting in Bakhmut as a "continuous dynamic process."

Malyar said on Telegram on April 25: "We can lose positions in battle today, and regain them the next day; that is why the military prefers to talk about the result after the operation is over."

Malyar's comments came a day after Ukrainian commanders denied a Russian claim that mercenaries from the Wagner Group almost completely controlled the city.

In Washington, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby warned that Russian forces can step up their offensive actions once the weather begins to get warmer.

"We know that in the spring, when the weather improves -- and it is already starting to improve -- we can expect that the Russians will want to go on the offensive in some areas. We don't know exactly where and how they will do it, but we want to be sure that Ukrainians are able to defend themselves better against it," Kirby told Voice of America on Monday.