Ukraine Affirms To Continuously Give Resistance Against Russia To Defend Bakhmut City

JAKARTA - Ukraine said on Monday its troops were still fighting an attempted siege of Bakhmut, while Washington said even if the eastern city fell to a Russian attack, it would not give Moscow momentum in the war.

President Volodymyr Zelensky's office said he discussed the Bakhmut operation with the chief of the general staff and the commander of the ground forces, who both supported "further strengthening of positions in Bakhmut" to continue defensive operations.

The Russians are trying to outflank Bakhmut to secure what will be its first major gain in more than half a year, at the height of a winter offensive that has led to the war's bloodiest battle.

Following Russian victories in recent weeks, Ukrainian troops have been strengthening positions west of Bakhmut in preparation for a possible retreat. However, reports from commanders on Monday indicated they had not made up their minds to step down.

The commander of the Ukrainian ground forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, visited Bakhmut on Sunday, according to the military. He said Russia's Wagner Group mercenaries had deployed additional troops into the battle, but the Ukrainian army was continuing to fight.

Volodymyr Nazarenko, a Ukrainian commander in Bakhmut, said there had been no orders to withdraw and his troops were holding out, despite the dire conditions.

"The situation in Bakhmut and its surroundings is completely chaotic, as it is on the entire eastern front," Nazarenko said in a video posted on Telegram, reported Reuters March 7.

After losing ground captured at the start of the invasion throughout the second half of 2022, Russia waged a winter offensive with intense trench warfare, drawing on hundreds of thousands of reserves called up late last year.

Apart from Bakhmut, the Russian offensive yielded no significant gains, failing to take land in Luhansk Province further north and costing particularly heavy losses around Vuhledar to the south.

Kyiv, focused on defense for the past three months, tried to inflict heavy casualties while preparing for a counteroffensive as new weapons arrived and the muddy ground dried up.

The fierce fighting had exhausted both sides' artillery reserves, with thousands of shells being fired daily along the eastern and southern fronts. Kyiv's European allies are working on a deal to get more ammunition for the fight.

Speaking to reporters in the Middle East, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said he would not predict when or if Ukrainian troops would leave the city, but that its fall "doesn't mean that Russia has turned the tide of this battle".

"I think it's more of a symbolic value than a strategic and operational value," said Minister Austin.

Moscow says taking the city would be a step toward its main goal, to capture all of the territory of the surrounding Donbas region. Kyiv, by contrast, said Russia's defeat in its bid to take a city in ruins could determine the course of future wars, destroying fighting strength ahead of a decisive battle later this year.

Separately, the Institute for War Studies think-tank said it was unclear whether Ukraine would withdraw from Bakhmut or stay put to continue to weaken Russian forces. Meanwhile, the Moscow offensive appears to have reached its breaking point.

"The possible peak of the Russian offensive around Bakhmut before or after its fall, the already peaking Russian offensive around Vuhledar, and the stalled Russian offensive in Luhansk Oblast are likely to create strong conditions for a future Ukrainian counteroffensive," the researchers wrote.