Russia keeps trying to advance on Donetsk’s Bakhmut despite Ukraine’s pressure on flanks in north, south – British intel

The latest Defense Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine as of 28 September 2022 published by the British Defense Ministry says that the last few days saw Ukraine pressing its offensive operations in the country's northeast.

"[Ukrainian] units are making slow advances on at least two axes east from the line of the Oskil and Siverskyy Donets rivers, where forces had consolidated following their previous advance earlier in the month," the report reads.

Meanwhile, Russia is now mounting a more substantive defense than before likely "because the Ukrainian advance now threatens parts of Luhansk Oblast as voting in the [fake] referendum on accession to the Russian Federation closes."

Ukrainian troops advance 10 km near east-Ukrainian Lyman threatening to encircle Russian forces

Despite Ukraine threatening to outflank the Russian troops in the north of Donetsk Oblast, "Russia continues its grinding attempts to advance near Bakhmut in the Donbas even while it faces severe pressure on its northern and southern flanks." The report suggests that the Russian troops keep trying to capture Bakhmut "likely due to political pressure as Russia is using forces that could otherwise reinforce the other flanks." Meanwhile, heavy fighting also goes on in Kherson Oblast where the Russian force on the right (western) bank of the Dnipro river remains vulnerable.