Ukrainian Commander Says Russia is Running Out of Men in Bakhmut

Russian forces are running out of manpower to carry out assault operations and advance in some sectors of the front-line, the commander of the Ground Forces, Colonel-General Oleksander Syrsky, reported on his Telegram channel.

 "The defense forces continue to defend Bakhmut, inflicting heavy losses on the enemy in the east. In some areas, the enemy is noticeably nervous because time is working against them, and there is less available manpower to storm our positions," said Syrsky.

 He added that "the coherence of the actions and the steadfastness of Ukrainian soldiers" will ensure the fulfillment of their tasks, break the morale of the Russian military and disrupt its plans.

 The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) , an American think tank, in its assessment on Tuesday Mar. 28, estimated that, in the last seven days, Russian forces have only captured an additional five percent of the ground they hold in Bakhmut and that they currently occupy roughly 65 percent of the city.

 However, ISW also concluded that Ukrainian forces were well positioned to regain the initiative and launch counter-offensives in critical sectors of the current front line, as Russians continued to lose momentum and dialed back its plans for further offensive action.

 A recent Bloomberg publication, cited anonymous sources familiar with the Kremlin’s plans, that claimed that Russia was digging in for a long fight and seeks to sign up as many as 400,000 contract soldiers this year to reinforce its deployed forces.

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 With this in mind, the Russian military has reportedly launched an advertising campaign to attract more contract servicemen for offensive operations in Ukraine. These offer new financial inducements to those who sign up, the local newspaper "76 RU", which is based in the Yaroslavl region, reported on Mar. 22.

 According to the publication, the monthly salary of a contracted serviceman will be about 200 thousand rubles ($2,600), depending on the assigned military rank, position, and length of service.

 In addition, it says that those assigned to the Russian frontline as part of an assault detachment, will be rewarded with a payment of 50 thousand RUB ($650) for every kilometer gained.