Ukraine declares continuation of hell battle in Bakhmut
2023.03.06 13:48
Ukraine declares continuation of hell battle in Bakhmut
By Ray Johnson
Budrigannews.com – On Monday, Ukraine said that its troops were still fighting the attempt to encircle Bakhmut, and Washington said that even if the eastern city fell to Russia’s offensive, it wouldn’t necessarily give Moscow a leg up in the war.
According to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office, he talked about the Bakhmut operation with the chief of the general staff and commander of ground forces. Both of them said they wanted to “further strengthen positions in Bakhmut” to keep the defensive operation going.
At the conclusion of a winter offensive that has brought the bloodiest fighting of the war, Russia is attempting to surround Bakhmut in order to secure what would be its first significant gain in more than half a year.
In apparent preparation for a possible retreat, Ukrainian troops have been consolidating positions west of Bakhmut following Russian gains in recent weeks. Be that as it may, the reports from officers on Monday recommended they had not yet chosen to pull out.
Both sides’ artillery reserves have been depleted as a result of the intense battle, which saw daily firing of thousands of shells along the eastern and southern fronts. The European allies of Kyiv are working on a deal to acquire additional combat ammunition.
Wagner’s boss stated that his aide had been barred from the military’s operational headquarters and demanded more ammunition, the latest indication of a rivalry between the Wagner private army leading its Bakhmut assault and the Russian military.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters in the Middle East that while he could not say when or if Ukrainian troops would leave the city, its fall “won’t necessarily mean that the Russians have changed the tide of this fight.”
Austin asserted, “I think it is more of a symbolic value than it is a strategic or operational value.”
Moscow claims that capturing the city would move it closer to its primary goal of acquiring the entire Donbas region. Kyiv asserts that Russia’s failure to retake a demolished city could alter the course of the conflict by reducing combat power ahead of key battles later this year.
According to the military, Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, paid a visit to Bakhmut on Sunday. He stated that Wagner had added troops to the conflict, but Ukraine’s soldiers were continuing to fight.
Volodymyr Nazarenko, a Ukrainian commander in Bakhmut, stated that “the defense is holding,” despite the dire circumstances, and that there had been no order to retreat.
In a Telegram video, Nazarenko stated, “The situation in Bakhmut and the area around it is utter hell, as it is on the entire eastern front.”
The most recent of a series of statements by Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, who sent tens of thousands of prisoners recruited from Russian prisons into battle around Bakhmut, has widened his rift with Russia’s top brass.
According to Prigozhin, he sent the commander of the Ukraine campaign a letter on Sunday “about the urgent need to allocate ammunition.” He stated that his representative had been denied access and that his pass had been revoked at operational headquarters on Monday morning.
The Russian Ministry of Defense did not immediately respond. The Ukraine campaign has been personally led by Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, Russia’s highest-ranking general.
Last week, Prigozhin claimed that Bakhmut’s men had practically surrounded him. However, he made an appearance in a video on Saturday with a more pessimistic assessment. In the video, he warned that the front would collapse if Wagner was forced to retreat, though the date of the recording was unclear.
He has accused ministry officials of “treason” for not providing his forces with enough ammunition, which the ministry has denied.
Mykyta Shandyba, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s 10th assault brigade, told Ukrainian television that “it was clear” that Russian forces had limited their progress in Bakhmut due to a lack of ammunition.
However, he stated that Russia’s attacks had become more intense in recent days, with 30 people attempting to penetrate Ukrainian defense lines.
He stated, “They failed so far.”
In recent days, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who has been out of the public eye for the majority of the war, paid a rare visit to his forces in Ukraine to present medals and meet with commanders. He went to the eastern city of Mariupol on Monday, which Russian forces largely destroyed last year after a months-long siege.
Russia used hundreds of thousands of reservists who had been called up late last year to launch a winter offensive of intense trench warfare after losing ground in the second half of 2022.
Russia’s offensive, with the exception of Bakhmut, has not made any significant progress. It has not been able to gain ground in the province of Luhansk further north and has suffered significant losses, particularly in the area surrounding Vuhledar in the south.
For its part, Kyiv has spent the last three months primarily focusing on defense, attempting to inflict high casualties while preparing for a counterattack when new weapons arrive and the muddy ground dries out.
According to the Institute for War Studies, the decision regarding whether Ukraine would remain in Bakhmut or withdraw is still unclear. Regardless, Moscow’s offensive seemed to be reaching its peak.
According to the researchers, “the likely imminent conclusion of the Russian offensive around Bakhmut before or after its fall, the already concluded Russian offensive around Vuhledar, and the stalling Russian offensive in Luhansk Oblast are likely setting robust conditions for a future Ukrainian counteroffensive.”
