Battle for Bakhmut is not over – Ukraine
ASENIOR Ukrainian politician has said the battle for Bakhmut is not over after Russia claimed it had won control of the city following a nine-month conflict in which tens of thousands of fighters died.
Deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said yesterday that Ukrainian troops hold some areas in its southwestern outskirts, while fighting continues for the strategic heights in the northern and southern parts of the suburbs.
“The offensive potential of the enemy has been significantly reduced. Huge losses have been inflicted on the enemy. We have gained time for certain actions, which will be revealed later,” Ms Maliar said.
Ukrainian officials say their fighters played a key role in their strategy of exhausting Russian forces and that their current positions surrounding Bakhmut will let them strike back inside the 400-year-old city.
“Despite the fact that we now control a small part of Bakhmut, the importance of its defence does not lose its relevance,” said Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, who commands Ukraine’s ground forces. “This gives us the opportunity to enter the city in case of a change in the situation. And it will definitely happen.”
The fog of war made it impossible to confirm the situation inside Bakhmut.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said fighters of the Wagner private military contractor, backed by Russian troops, had seized the city. Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the city was not being fully occupied.
In a video posted on Telegram, Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin said the city came under complete Russian control about midday on Saturday, proclaiming it “completely taken”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin badly needed a victory in Bakhmut, analysts say, especially after a winter offensive by his forces failed to take other cities and towns along the front.
But victory in Bakhmut does not necessarily bring Russia any closer to capturing the Donetsk region – one of Mr Putin’s stated aims at the start of the invasion.