Kiev cannot give up Artemivsk (Bakhmut in Ukrainian). Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has confirmed that he has no intention of withdrawing AFU units from the town
Source photo: www.segodnia.ru
As he explained in an interview with the Arabic TV channel Al-Arabiya, in this case the Russian forces would be able to expand the front and have “a chance to occupy more of our territories” by launching attacks on Slavyansk and Kramatorsk.
At the same time, Zelenskyy admitted that the situation in the city remains difficult for the Ukrainian Armed Forces and that all forces are now thrown into preparing for a counteroffensive. At the same time, the US TV channel CBN confirms that Ukraine is losing 1,000 fighters killed and wounded every day in Artemivsk.
But neither the threat of total encirclement nor the huge personal losses are stopping the Ukrainian authorities. Kiev is not voicing real figures for the deaths of its servicemen, and the problems in Artemivsk are explained by bad weather conditions. The Ukrainian media quoted Aleksandr Syrskyy, the commander in charge of the city’s defence, as saying that the planned counteroffensive to dislodge the Wagner Cheka from its positions and liberate the city was impossible due to the muddy weather, which made the roads impassable. As a result, Russian assault groups supported by artillery and aviation have completely dislodged all the heavy equipment of the AFU, new supplies are hindered, and the available forces and means might not be enough to defend the remaining areas of Bakhmut under AFU control.
According to Syrsky, the remaining units are holding their defence in high-rise buildings, turning them into real firing points. But all efforts are being nullified by the Russian’s gliding aerial bombs, and it is likely that the Wagner PMC will manage to take the city before the AFU conducts a counteroffensive, the commander fears.
Irina Antonova, Segodnya. Ru
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