NATO Secretary General Warns Ukrainian City of Bakhmut Could Fall Into Russian Hands Within Days

Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg. (Wikimedia Commons/Fornyingsdepartementet)

JAKARTA - North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned on Wednesday the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut may fall to Russia in the coming days, after months of fierce fighting.

His remarks come as Russia's Wagner Group mercenary group, which has spearheaded the attack on Bakhmut, claims to have captured the eastern edge of the industrial city, which was devastated in the longest fighting since Moscow invaded.

Yesterday, Chief Wagner and Kremlin ally Yevgeny Prigozhin said on social media his forces "have captured the entire eastern part of Bakhmut" a salt-mining town with a pre-war population of 80.000.

The fierce fighting around Bakhmut has been the longest and bloodiest in the Russian invasion for more than a year, which has devastated large swathes of Ukraine and displaced millions.

"What we are seeing is that Russia is deploying more troops, more troops and what it lacks in quality they are trying to make up for in quantity," Stoltenberg told reporters in Stockholm on the sidelines of a meeting of EU defense ministers, citing CNA, March 9.

In the Swedish capital, EU ministers are discussing plans to increase defense production, speeding ammunition to Ukraine as the country fires thousands of howitzer shells every day.

"We cannot rule out that Bakhmut will eventually fall in the coming days," the head of the US-led military alliance said, adding that "this does not necessarily reflect a turning point in the war".

Separately, in an interview with CNN, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned of what could happen if Bakhmut fell into the hands of Russian troops.

"We understand that after Bakhmut, (Russian forces) can go further and attack nearby cities in the Donetsk region," President Zelensky explained.

"They can go to Kramatorsk, they can go to Sloviansk, that will be an open road for the Russians after Bakhmut to other cities in Ukraine, towards Donetsk," Zelensky said in the interview broadcast Wednesday.

Earlier, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told military officials during a televised meeting on Tuesday, taking control of the city would allow "further offensive operations" in eastern Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Prigozhin estimated that between "12.000 and 20.000" Ukrainian troops were still defending the town.

President Zelensky said his armed forces had decided to stay in Bakhmut.

"Of course, we have to think about our military life. But we have to do whatever we can while we get weapons, supplies and our soldiers are preparing for a counterattack," he said.