Defense Minister Shoigu Reveals Reasons For Russia's Persistence In Occupying Ukrainian City Of Bakhmut

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. (Source: Kremlin)

JAKARTA - Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the capture of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine was critical, to punch a hole in Ukraine's defenses and would allow Moscow forces to carry out offensive operations further into Ukraine.

Russian troops have been waging an intensive months-long campaign for control of the small town, in what will be their first significant territorial advance since last summer.

"The liberation of Artyomovsk continues," Shoigu said in televised remarks, using the old Soviet-era name for Bakhmut.

"This city is an important center for maintaining Ukrainian troops in the Donbas. Taking control will allow further offensive actions to be carried out deep into the Ukrainian lines," Shoigu said.

The heavily industrialized region of Donbas in eastern Ukraine comprises Donetsk and Lugansk, both of which were claimed by Russia along with two other Ukrainian territories as its own after last year's referendum, claims Kyiv and the West reject as illegal.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Russian Wagner mercenary group that has spearheaded the battle for the city, said last Friday his troops were "practically encircling" Bakhmut.

But he said Monday his troops needed the regular army to give him more ammunition, reinforcements and cover support to win.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday Ukrainian troops would continue to defend the town, as news of Ukraine's imminent retreat continued to circulate.

Ukrainian soldiers in a trench in Bakhmut. (Twitter/@DefenceU Viktor Borinets)

Asked about Minister Shoigu's comments on Tuesday, Prigozhin said he did not know what would happen after the capture of Bakhmut, but called on Russia not to rush things.

"They say 'don't sell the skin until you catch the bear,' but no one talks about the consequences of trying to remove the skin while the bear is still alive," he said in a post on Telegram.

It is known that mercenary bosses and the defense ministry have been embroiled in a long-running dispute over Russia's campaign in Ukraine.

In his latest criticism, Prigozhin accused Minister Shoigu of impeding Bakhmut's offensive by not providing his Wagner troops with enough ammunition. The Ministry of Defense has denied such accusations in the past.

In his post on Tuesday, Prigozhin made pointed references to the defense minister, saying he "hadn't seen him in Bakhmut" and saying Wagner's troops were coming up against well-equipped Ukrainian troops, who could number as many as 20,000.

"Zelensky didn't run out of people, thousands more were thrown into the 'meat grinder'. They had ammunition and weapons," he said.

Prigozhin also appeared to be critical of Shoigu, for publicly commenting on what the Russian troops might do after taking Bakhmut.

"Why Sergei Kuzhugetovich (Shoigu) commented on that I don't know... maybe to please the Russian audience. Maybe to annoy Zelensky," he said.

In televised remarks, Shoigu said the West was increasing its weapons shipments to Ukraine. However, according to him, this would not change the situation on the battlefield. Both Kyiv and Moscow say they have killed large numbers of enemy troops in the battle for Bakhmut.

Earlier, United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said on Monday the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut was more symbolic than operational strategic, with its fall not meaning that Moscow had regained the initiative in the war.

"I think it has more symbolic value than strategic and operational value," Minister Austin told reporters while visiting Jordan.

"The fall of Bakhmut does not mean that Russia has turned the tide of this fight," the Pentagon chief continued, adding that he would not predict whether or when Bakhmut would fall.