In recent days, war analysts have painted a picture of Russian forces struggling to make significant gains across Ukraine.
According to the Institute for the Study of War in the United States, they are “not making significant progress around Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, or anywhere else along the front lines in Ukraine.”
However, it said Russia is still trying to push a narrative that it is making major progress in Bakhmut, a city in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.
Analysts said the information operation is likely an attempt to “improve morale” and “possibly the personal standing” of Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, who is behind the Wagner mercenary group.
The notorious Wagner group is “largely responsible” for the minimal gains around Bakhmut, but the ISW said the advances have been “at a languid speed and a significant cost”.
Mr Prigozhin, who reportedly confronted Vladimir Putin over Russia’s stalling war effort, acknowledged the slow pace of the ground operations near Bakhmut last week.
He said his Wagner forces were advancing just 100 to 200m per day, which he absurdly claimed was a normal rate for modern advances.