WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) – Despite the difficult situation in Bakhmut, the Institute for War Studies (ISW) believes that Kiev’s strategy of continuing to defend the eastern Ukrainian city that has been fought over for months is correct. “The Ukrainian defense of Bakhmut has forced the Kremlin to exhaust much of the Wagner group as a force,” argues the US think tank in its latest report on Tuesday (local time). In addition, Russia must deploy high-quality air forces in order to make progress. The resulting weakening of the Russian side favored the conditions for a Ukrainian counter-offensive, according to the ISW. A defense of Bachmut and the preparation of a counter-offensive are therefore not mutually exclusive.
Western observers had previously questioned Kiev’s decision to continue with Bakhmut. According to estimates from US government circles, it might make more sense to focus on a counter-offensive in the spring. A Russian conquest of Bakhmut would bring about “no significant strategic turnaround on the battlefield,” the Washington Post (Monday) quoted a high-ranking government official as saying. “Russia will try to portray it as such, but it is a spot on the map for which they have shed an extraordinary amount of blood and resources.”
US Chief of Staff Mark Milley described the long-lasting battle for the Bakhmut region in Brussels on Tuesday as a war of attrition. There is a lot of violence and fighting, but the front line is pretty stable. “I would describe it as a very big battle of attrition with very high casualties, especially on the Russian side.”
According to the authorities, almost 5,000 civilians were in Bachmut. For several months, Russian troops have been trying to capture the city, which was home to 70,000 people before the war. Soldiers from the Russian Private Army Wagner advanced mainly to the north and south of the city. Bachmut is threatened with confinement. All supply routes are also under Russian fire./gma/DP/mis