Michael Kofman, the director of Russia studies at the CAN thinktank in Arlington, Virginia, said 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 city’s importance has become psychological - for Russian president Vladimir Putin, a victory there will finally deliver some good news from the battlefield, while for Kyiv the display of grit and defiance reinforces a message that Ukraine is holding on after a year of brutal attacks to cement support among its western allies.Įven so, some analysts questioned the wisdom of the Ukrainian defenders holding out much longer, with others suggesting a tactical withdrawal may already be under way. Bakhmut does not have any major strategic value, and analysts say its possible fall is unlikely to bring a turning point in the conflict.
Over the bitterly cold winter months, the fighting has largely been deadlocked. The few thousand civilians still there have been confined to living in basements for months with no running water, electricity or gas. Thousands of people have been killed and injured in the battle and videos from the city in the past week show many buildings charred, collapsed or without windows. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, “spoke in favour of continuing the defensive operation and further strengthening positions in Bakhmut”, it said in a statement on its website. The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, discussed the situation with senior commanders, and two top generals supported continuing to defend the eastern city against Russian forces, Zelenskiy’s office said on Monday. The head of the mercenary Wagner group, which is leading the Russian offensive in Bakhmut, claimed in a video published on Saturday that if his men were forced to withdraw, it could lead to the collapse of the entire Russian frontline.
Intense fighting continues in and around the besieged eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut as Kyiv and Moscow seemingly struggle with ammunition shortages and mounting casualties.
Russia steps up efforts to take besieged Bakhmut as Kyiv continues to support its defence
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