It’s back might be against the wall in Bakhmut, but Ukraine has vowed to continue its defense of the city in Donetsk and is sending reinforcements into the hottest spot in the war, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday.
In the process of defending the city in Donetsk, he added, Ukraine can inflict more losses on Russian forces.
Fighting in Bakhmut has been going on for around seven months and it’s undoubtedly the scene of the fiercest fighting in Ukraine right now. Russian forces and mercenary units from the Wagner Group have been slowly advancing on, and into, Bakhmut and surrounding settlements in recent weeks.
John Moore | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Defense analysis suggests Russian forces surround much of the city and have made advances into Bakhmut but do not control all parts of the city, but Ukrainian-held supply routes into Bakhmut appear increasingly limited and at risk. Several thousands of people still live in the city, much of which has been reduced to ruins.
A Ukrainian commander of troops in Bakhmut characterized the situation in the city and its outskirts as “very much like hell” at the weekend, while analysts at the Institute for the Study of War think tank said Sunday that Ukraine appears to be conducting a “limited tactical withdrawal” in Bakhmut.