Resist, while you can, trying to wear down the enemy in a bloody battle urban where, according to military strategy manuals, the defending troops always start with an advantage. seven months and seven days have elapsed since the official start of the battle for control of Bakhmutthe nondescript provincial town in eastern Ukraine that the Kremlin aspires to control as war trophy. AND although the degree of destruction of the urban area is already comparable to that of other towns-martyrs of this war such as Mariupol, the Ukrainian military commanders They have given it to be understood, through words but also through deeds, that they are still not considering the withdrawal of their troops stationed there, while military forecasts have ruled out that the Russian Army has the capacity to close the pincer around the population in a Next future. From Washington, the US authorities have ruled out that a possible city fall provide the Kremlin forces momentum and drive to complete the conquest of the region, given the high losses suffered.
In a significant gesture of support for the defending forces, Oleksandr Syrkyicommander of the ground troops in Ukraine, visited his men positioned among the ruins of the city during the day, acknowledging that the fighting is reaching its maximum intensity due to the arrival of troops belonging to the wagner groupwhose effectiveness on the battlefield is far superior to that of the regular Army, as confirmed by Ukrainian military sources. Volodimir Nazarenko, commander of the troops in Bakhmut, has reported that, for the moment, there was no withdrawal order and that the defenses are maintained, although in a difficult situation. “The situation in Bakhmut is absolute hell, as it is on the entire eastern front,” he proclaimed in a video broadcast by Telegram. For its part, the office of the president Volodimir Zelensky has reported that the head of state had discussed the issue with the chief of staff and with the commander of the land forces, and both have agreed to “maintain the defensive operation and reinforce the positions in Bakhmut”.
kyiv intentions
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He Institute for War Studies (ISW) holds, in his last daily report about the situation at the front, that it is still “early” to discern kyiv’s true intentions, although he ventures that the Ukrainian troops could carry out a “limited defensive retreat” west of bakhmutovka river, which divides the city into two halves leaving the urban center in Ukrainian hands, and rules out a full withdrawal of forces from kyiv in a single batch. According to this institution, the defense of Bakhmut “continues to make sense (for Kiev) since it continues to consume men and resources from Russia”, although that is, as long as “the Ukrainian forces do not suffer excessive losses”.
Precisely in the field of military casualties, the newspaper The Kyiv Independent, has spread this monday testimonies from a dozen Ukrainian soldiers on this front who criticize the lack of preparation and adequate equipment to continue the combat. A soldier named Serhiy has reported that poorly trained battalions have been thrown to the front lines without artillery, mortar or drone support. “We do not receive no support“, he has denounced. “When you go out to the position, there is not even a 50/50 chance that you will get out of there alive; rather it is from 30/70 “.” she is a meat grinder “, another military man has concluded.