Favour
He also warned that Russian forces were still trying to mount counterattacks in places.
While his claims could not be independently verified, Russian military bloggers also have noted Ukrainian gains around Bakhmut over the past week.
Southwest of Bakhmut, Ukrainian soldiers and commanders have reported an advance through a pocket of forests near the village of Ivanivske, and they appear to be moving in the direction of Klishchiivka, a small village that Wagner mercenaries claimed on Jan. 19 after weeks of combat.
The village sits on high ground, and whichever army controls it has a commanding position overlooking important roadways to Bakhmut.
Northwest of the city, the armies appear to be fighting over control of high ground around the Berkhiv Reservoir.
Without mentioning a retreat, the Russian Ministry of Defense said over the weekend that its forces were regrouping around the reservoir to increase the strength of the line of defense.
Without going into detail, he said the forward march had been uneven, with pitched battles being fought over areas about the size of three football fields in some locations.