Russia has deployed a new military formation of about 15,000 soldiers to fight around Bakhmut. Ukraine's spy chief, Kyrylo Budanov, said the 25th Army was deployed earlier than planned. Budanov said Ukraine is pinning down Putin's forces near Bakhmut to prevent redeployment to the south. Kyrylo Budanov told The War Zone that Ukraine was pinning down Russian forces in Bakhmut to prevent them from being deployed to other axes where its counteroffensive is pushing forward. "Now it's redeployed to roughly the north of Bakhmut, and that's the place where it's going to be buried."

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Persons: Ukraine's, Kyrylo Budanov, Budanov, hasn't, Oleksandr Tarnavsky, Bakhmut Organizations: Army, Service, 25th Army, Combined, UK's Ministry of Defence, Ukraine's, CNN Locations: Russia, Bakhmut, Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Verbove, Zaporizhzhia