If Russia succeeds in capturing Bachmut, Moscow’s troops will be given “free rein” to take key cities in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned of this in an interview with the American news channel CNN.
SVM
Mar 8 2023
Latest update:
06:57
Source:
Belgium
“We understand that after Bachmoet they can continue. They could go to Kramatorsk, they could go to Slovyansk. There would be a free path for the Russians to other cities in Ukraine,” it sounds.
The Russian army has been trying to take Bachmut for months. Moscow considers the city an important hub in the Ukrainian defense line. But Ukrainian forces remain determined to defend the city.
“Doing everything we can”
“Of course we have to think about the lives of our soldiers,” says Zelensky. “But we have to do everything we can. In the meantime, we are arming and supplying ourselves and our army is preparing for the counter-offensive.”
LOOK. Russian soldiers challenge Ukrainian drone
Although the strategic value of Bachmoet is disputed by several experts, the city has acquired great symbolic significance due to the heavy losses suffered by both sides. The Battle of Bachmut is the longest and deadliest battle since the start of the Russian invasion in February last year.
The largely destroyed city had a population of about 70,000 before the invasion. Today, that number is estimated at barely 4,000 people.
Read also: Why Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin is still alive? Because Putin needs him for something else (+)
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