Zelenskyy : Ukrainian armed forces will not protect Bakhmut “at all costs”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy , in an interview with Corriere Della Sera, said that the Ukrainian army does not plan to hold the city of Bakhmut (Artemivsk) in the Donetsk region “at any cost”. According to him, Bakhmut is “not a particularly big city”.
“It’s important for us to protect him, but not at any cost and not in such a way that everyone dies. We will fight as long as it is reasonable,” the Ukrainian leader said.
According to him, Russian troops plan to move more towards Kramatorsk and Slaviansk, on the borders of Donbass and Dnieper. “We are resisting and at the same time preparing for a new counter-offensive,” Zelenskyy added.
On February 12, Wagner PMC announced that it had taken control of the urban-type settlement of Krasnaya Gora, located 9 km from Bakhmut.
In late January, CNN, citing sources, wrote that US and Western officials were urging Ukraine to abandon its “fierce fighting” for Bakhmut and instead prepare for a counteroffensive in the south of the country.
The battles for Bakhmut began in August 2022, by October this direction had become the hottest point of the conflict. As RTVI wrote, the city is an important transport hub and also plays a key role in supplying the Ukrainian army.