Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny and Commander of the Operational Strategic Troop Group “Khortitsa” Alexander Syrsky spoke in favor of continuing the defense operation and strengthening Ukrainian positions in Bakhmut.
This was reported by the website of the President of Ukraine on March 6 following the results of the regular meeting of the headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief.
“Assessing the course of the defense operation, the President asked the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny and the Commander of the Strategic Operational Grouping of Troops” Khortitsa “Alexander Syrsky regarding further actions in the direction of Bakhmut They spoke out in favor of continuing the defense operation and strengthening our positions in Bakhmut,” the website of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says.
The participants in the headquarters meeting discussed the issues of the supply of weapons and equipment and their distribution in the operational areas.
Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said on Monday that the capture of Bakhmut by Russian troops would not have a significant impact on the course of hostilities in Ukraine. “I think he (Bakhmut) is more symbolic than strategic,” Austin told reporters during a visit to Jordan. “His fall would not necessarily mean that the Russians changed the course of the war.”
The minister also noted that if Ukrainian troops decide to redeploy west of Bakhmut, he will not see it as a strategic failure, Reuters reported.
Recall that the commander of the Eastern Group of Forces, Colonel-General Alexander Syrsky, has visited the units defending Bakhmut at least three times since February 25.
The Telegram channel’s Military Media Center reported on the afternoon of March 6 that the commander of the ground forces, Colonel-General Alexander Syrsky, on March 5 “once again” visited the units defending Bakhmut and in the outskirts of the city.
He noted that the battles for Bakhmut had reached the highest level of tension.
“The enemy has thrown additional Wagnerian forces into the battle. Our soldiers are bravely defending their positions north of Bakhmut, trying to prevent the encirclement of the city,” Syrsky stressed.
The message also contains a reminder that “our resistance in this foothold has lasted for several months”.
“All the while, the enemy’s attempts to capture the city were crushed by the endurance of our soldiers. Our defenders inflicted heavy damage on the enemy, destroyed a large amount of equipment, forced Wagner’s best assault units into battle, and reduced the enemy’s offensive potential,” reports the Military Media Center. .
According to the Russian press, about ten thousand Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers are still in Bakhmut. This was reported on March 6 by news.ru with reference to Yan Gagin, a representative of the so-called DNR.
Experts from the US Institute for the Study of War (ISW) noted on March 5 that Ukrainian forces would likely undertake a “limited tactical withdrawal to Bakhmut”.
In their report, they also pointed out that Russian journalists and bloggers covering positions in eastern Bakhmut spoke on March 5 of the capture of the eastern, northern and southern parts of the city by Russian troops. However, this information cannot be independently verified by ISW.
The report notes that the defense of Bakhmut by Ukrainian forces “remains strategically sound” and that Ukrainian forces do not suffer excessive losses.
Ukrainian political scientist Oleg Posternak characterizes the logic of the actions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in defense of Bakhmut.
“It is a big city, an important transport and logistics point, the control of which opens the way to Sloviansk and Kramatorsk. The loss of these cities for Ukraine will be greater than Bakhmut, and the defense of this direction is a link in the same chain and logic. Therefore, the military-tactical situation dictates the most resolute resistance possible,” Posternak told the Russian media service correspondent.
He also noted other circumstances affecting the situation around Bakhmut.
“Of course, public opinion is objectively inclined, given the losses, for the surrender of this city, and such an idea cannot be considered unpopular in this segment of society which is tired of war. Thus, the office of the president, so to speak, gives a pass to the general staff and the military generals that it is their initiative to keep Bakhmut further,” the analyst says.
“There is… skepticism among some of our allies about the need to continue the defense of Bakhmut,” he continued. – … That’s why Bakhmut is so important to us. Not only military-tactical circumstances, but also (the need) not to be vulnerable in the eyes of the European allies, who must continue to give us weapons to carry out the disoccupation of the whole territory.
Political technologist Dmitry Bachevsky believes that despite the difficult situation in Bakhmut, maintaining it remains one of the most important elements in preparing Ukraine for the spring offensive.
“It allows to attract large Russian forces to a point, which could advance in other directions. In urban battles, the losses of the Russian attackers are several times greater than ours, which makes it possible to exhaust their offensive potential. You have to keep in mind that keeping Bakhmut allows you to maintain the current configuration and the front line,” Bachevsky explained in an interview with a correspondent from the media Russian service.
The possibility of a withdrawal from the city, he said, would lead to the preparation of a new defensive operation at Seversk or Konstantinovka.
“And that, of course, greatly adjusted the military plans for the spring campaign. It is also evident that a decision was made to keep Bakhmut as long as possible,” says the expert.
He considers incorrect the assumption that the main reason for the continued defense of Bakhmut could be “the symbolic meaning of the city, declared a fortress”.
“On the contrary, our command was guided mainly by military considerations and calculations,” Bachevsky believes.
Ukrainian experts on the decision of the Ukrainian Armed Forces command to continue to protect Bakhmut
