Ukrainian military leaders have expressed determination to hold on to Bakhmut as Russian forces encroached on the devastated eastern city they have sought to capture for six months at the cost of thousands of lives.
Ukrainian military leaders have expressed determination to hold on to Bakhmut as Russian forces encroached on the devastated eastern city they have sought to capture for six months at the cost of thousands of lives.
Less than a week ago, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the defenders might retreat from Bakhmut and fall back to nearby positions.
But Mr Zelensky’s office said on Monday he chaired a meeting in which top military brass “spoke in favour of continuing the defence operation and further strengthening our positions in Bakhmut”.
Mr Zelensky’s top adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, said no decision has been made to retreat because of “a consensus among the military about the need to continue defending the city” and grinding down enemy forces “while building new lines of defence”.
By pressing the defence, Ukraine has exhausted Russia’s main combat-ready groups and trained tens of thousands of Ukrainian military personnel for a possible counteroffensive, he said.
Intense Russian shelling targeted the city in the Donetsk region and nearby villages as Moscow waged a three-sided assault to try to finish off Bakhmut’s resistance.
The nearby towns of Chasiv Yar and Kostiantynivka came under heavy shelling, damaging cars and homes and sparking a fire. No casualties were immediately reported.
Police and volunteers evacuated people from Chasiv Yar and other frontline towns in an operation made difficult by the loss of bridges and constant artillery fire which has left barely a house standing.
Russian forces have been unable to deliver a knockout blow that would allow them to seize Bakhmut. Analysts say it does not hold major strategic value and its capture would be unlikely to serve as a turning point in the conflict.
The Russian push for Bakhmut reflects the Kremlin’s broader struggle to achieve battlefield momentum. Moscow’s full-scale invasion on February 24 2022 soon stalled and Ukraine launched a largely successful counteroffensive.
Over the bitterly cold winter months, the fighting has largely been deadlocked.
The city’s importance has become mostly symbolic. For Russian President Vladimir Putin, prevailing there would finally deliver some good news from the front. For Kyiv, the display of grit and defiance reinforces a message that Ukraine is holding on after a year of brutal attacks, justifying continued support from its western allies.
