Ukrainian, Russian and international sources report the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from parts of Bakhmut and the partial capture of the city by Russia, suggesting that the battle, which has raged for more than seven months and claimed tens of thousands of casualties on both sides, can be concluded.
Open-source researchers geolocating footage from the front estimate the advance of Russian troops into the city from the north and east, while the advance from the south is controversial, as the remaining Ukrainian contingent risks being surrounded.
American think tank Institute for the Study of War, which tracks events on the battlefield, announced on Monday that “Ukrainian forces may conduct a limited withdrawal east of Bakhmut … but it is too early to assess Ukraine’s intentions for a full withdrawal from the city.”
Yuriy Butusov, editor of the Ukrainian news site Censor, said: “The enemy has captured the eastern part of the city up to the Bakhmutka River … The battle is on for the remaining supply route. This route is under enemy fire. The enemy calls on our troops to leave Bakhmut, as there is a real threat of encirclement.”
“Some of our units retreated,” Butusov admitted, but added: “The enemy is slowly advancing and the Ukrainian command is confident that the escape routes can still be held for some time, thereby slowing down the pace of the offensive, there will be more losses for the Russians.”
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin downplayed the Battle of Bakhmut. “I think it’s more of a symbolic value than a strategic and operational value,” he said on Monday. “The fall of Bakhmut does not necessarily mean that the Russians turned the tide of this battle.”
Mr Austin did not say if he expected the city to fall into Russian hands, and if so, when.
Russian war correspondent Alexander Kots published a report in the newspaper. TVNZ Described as “the first message from Bakhmut”, claiming that the town was largely under Russian control and that the inhabitants greeted the invading forces with kisses.
“Last week, the operational encirclement of Bakhmut was formalized,” he wrote. “The enemy has only one supply route left, and they are under fire. Therefore, Kyiv began to withdraw its units.
But Yevgeny Progozhin, leader of the Wagner mercenary group that led the advance on Bakhmut, painted a bleaker picture of Russia’s prospects and warned that the invading force was in danger of defeat. In a video released this weekend, the military commander repeated the usual complaint that the Russian military is running out of ammunition in his units.
“If Wagner leaves Bakhmut now, the entire front will collapse,” Prigogine said. “The situation will not be favorable for all military formations protecting the interests of Russia.”
The commander had previously accused high-ranking Russian officials of “treason” for failing to properly provide for their troops and held them responsible for the high casualty rate.
Russian mobilized reservists also complained about the lack of ammunition. The UK Ministry of Defense said in its daily assessment of the fighting on Sunday that troops are even forced to engage in hand-to-hand combat with pikes.
Volodymyr Nazarenko, the Ukrainian commander in Bakhmut, stated in a Telegram video that no retreat had been ordered and that “the defense is being held in ‘hellish’ conditions.”
The office of President Volodymyr Zelensky announced plans to further strengthen the city’s defense positions.
But Ukraine’s international allies have been urging Kyiv in recent months to shift Bakhmut’s attention to counteroffensive plans as the battle continues to claim more lives and resources.
That’s what the commanders said Wall Street Journal that Russian casualties were higher, but Ukraine lost many of its best troops to elite units as the enemy sacrificed prisoners.
But the city took on symbolic significance during its seven-month defense, when “Bakhmut Holding” became a popular Ukrainian expression that makes retreat politically difficult.
President Zelensky brought the flag from the city to Washington for his speech to Congress in December. Last month, the Ukrainian leader said his troops would continue to defend the city, but “not at any cost.”
Both sides are believed to have suffered tens of thousands of casualties in the Battle of Bakhmut, although no official figures are given. Recent aerial photographs have shown that much of the city has been destroyed.
Source: I News
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