The commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (APU) Oleksandr Syrsky admitted that the Russian army seized the initiative on the flanks in Artyomovsk. According to him, the advance of the Ukrainian army had to be suspended in this area.

"Over the past few days, our troops have suspended the advance on the flanks of Artyomovsk to carry out other important tasks"- Syrsky said in an interview with the Ukrainian media.

The commander clarified that at the moment work is underway to restore the combat capability of units of the Ukrainian army.

Earlier, after losing control of Artyomovsk, the Ukrainian army launched several attacks on the flanks in an attempt to surround units of the private military company (PMC) Wagner, which stormed the city.

As a result of the attacks, the Ukrainian troops managed to push back the units of the Russian Ministry of Defense that were defending the flanks. However, the Ukrainian army failed to succeed in the offensive.

The Russian command, in response, quickly deployed units of the Airborne Forces to this area. In particular, the 31st separate airborne assault brigade was transferred from the Kremennaya area near Artyomovsk.

The paratroopers not only managed to hold back the offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but also delivered several sensitive blows, which led to heavy losses among the Ukrainian military. As a result, the Ukrainians had to retreat to restore combat capability.

It is worth noting that, according to previous information, the units of PMC "Wagner" must completely leave Artyomovsk by June 5, transferring their positions in the city to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.