Ukrainian military leaders are determined to hold onto Bakhmut, Kyiv officials said Monday, even as Russian forces continued to encroach on the devastated eastern Ukrainian city that they have sought to capture for six months at the cost of thousands of lives.
More broadly, Russia continues to experience difficulty generating battlefield momentum. Moscow's full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, soon stalled and then was pushed back by a Ukraine counteroffensive. Over the bitterly cold winter months, the fighting has largely been deadlocked.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin endorsed that view Monday, saying during a visit to Jordan that Bakhmut has "more of a symbolic value than strategic and operational value." Michael Kofman, the director of Russia studies at the CAN think tank in Arlington, Virginia, said that Ukraine's defence of Bakhmut has been effective because it has drained the Russian war effort, but that Kyiv should now look ahead.
"Ukrainian forces are unlikely to withdraw from Bakhmut all at once and may pursue a gradual fighting withdrawal to exhaust Russian forces through continued urban warfare," the ISW said in an assessment published late Sunday.Yevgeny Prigozhin, the millionaire owner of the Wagner Group military company that spearheaded the Bakhmut offensive, has been at loggerheads with the Russian Defense Ministry and repeatedly accused it of failing to provide his forces with ammunition.
But taking at least six months to conquer Bakhmut, which had a prewar population of 80,000 and was once a popular vacation destination, speaks poorly of the Russian military's offensive capabilities and may not bode well for the rest of its campaign.
France Dernières Nouvelles, France Actualités
Similar News:Vous pouvez également lire des articles d'actualité similaires à celui-ci que nous avons collectés auprès d'autres sources d'information.
Russian shelling hits Ukrainian town; Bakhmut battle ragesRussian shelling destroyed homes and killed one person in northern Ukraine's Kharkiv province, the region's governor said Sunday, while fighting raged in the fiercely contested eastern city of Bakhmut.
Lire la suite »
Russian shelling hits Ukrainian town as Bakhmut battle ragesA least five homes were razed in the latest attack in northern Ukraine’s Kharkiv province that left a 65-year-old man dead
Lire la suite »
Russian shelling hits Ukrainian town; Bakhmut battle ragesKYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian shelling destroyed homes and killed one person in northern Ukraine’s Kharkiv province, the region’s governor said Sunday, while…
Lire la suite »
Ukraine unyielding in Bakhmut as Russian troops close inUkrainian military leaders are determined to hold onto Bakhmut, Kyiv officials said Monday
Lire la suite »
Civilians flee embattled Bakhmut on foot as Ukrainian pullout loomsUkrainian units over the past 36 hours destroyed two key bridges as Russia fighters made inroads to the key eastern city
Lire la suite »
Battle for Bakhmut: Pressure mounts on Ukrainian troops as Russia closes in - National | Globalnews.caBakhmut has for months been a prime target of Moscow's grinding eastern offensive in the war, with Russian troops, including Wagner Group forces, inching ever closer.
Lire la suite »