Ukraine’s army leaders vow to withstand Russian aggression within the encroached japanese town of Bakhmut. This is regardless of a prior message from Kyiv lower than every week in the past that urged they may pull out troops to within sight positions.
Seven months since Russia started combating in Bakhmut, all sides have misplaced hundreds of lives – together with many Ukrainian civilians.
But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s place of business stated Monday that he chaired a gathering wherein most sensible army brass “spoke in favour of continuous the defence operation and extra strengthening our positions in Bakhmut.”
His top adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, told The Associated Press that Ukrainian forces around Bakhmut have been grinding down enemy forces, reinforcing their positions and training tens of thousands of Ukrainian military personnel for a possible counteroffensive.
Bakhmut has limited strategic value for the Kremlin and the battle to take the city is mostly a symbolic political prize. Moscow however is determined to pour more troops into the fight for Bakhmut.
Intense Russian shelling targeted the Donetsk city and nearby villages on Monday. Moscow pressed a three-sided assault to try to finish off any resistance.
Nearby towns such as Chasiv Yar and Kostiantynivka also came under heavy shelling, damaging cars and homes and sparking a fire. No casualties were immediately reported.
For Kyiv, the display of grit and defiance reinforces a message that Ukraine’s resistance is strong after a year of relentless attacks. This view was reinforced by US Secretary of Defence Llyod Austin, who said during a visit to Jordan that Bakhmut has more of a “strategic and operational value”.
Some analysts however question the wisdom of pressing the Ukrainian defenders to hold out much longer. Others suggest that a tactical withdrawal may already be underway.
Michael Kofman, the director of Russia studies at the Centre of Naval Analyses think tank in Arlington, Virginia, tweeted that Ukraine’s defence of Bakhmut has been effective because it has drained the Russian war effort, but that Kyiv should now look ahead.
The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, noted that urban warfare favours the defender but that Kyiv’s smartest option now may be to withdraw to positions that are easier to defend.
In recent days, Ukrainian units destroyed two key bridges just outside Bakhmut, including one linking it to Chasiv Yar along the last remaining Ukrainian resupply route, according to UK military intelligence officials and other Western analysts. Demolishing the bridges could slow the Russian offensive.
