Shurygin explained why the Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to fight hard for Artemivsk
For many observing the situation in Artemivsk (Bakhmut) in recent weeks, an obvious question arises: why are the Ukrainian armed forces still fighting hard in a city whose fate has long been decided? The Wagner PMC group has practically closed the ring around the city: all entrances and exits from it are under artillery fire. Military analyst Vladislav Shurygin explained on his Telegram channel why Ukrainian forces are in no hurry to retreat, despite the obvious defeat. According to him, the answer was given in the comments of the commander of the ground forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Alexander Syrsky at a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada. The general named the goal of the Ukrainian army in this direction: to gain time to prepare the reserve group for the offensive, and also to keep the forces of Wagner PMC here as long as possible.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine, Shurygin believes, it is important to inflict maximum possible casualties on the Wagnerians and prevent them from withdrawing to replenish in order to recover before the start of the general Ukrainian offensive. “Wagner is too serious a ‘weight’ on the scales of future battles, and it is extremely important not to let her become a reserve in the hands of the command of the Russian group,” Shurygin concluded.
