Bakhmut was once an industrial center with a thriving salt industry, including the small town of Soledar, which Russian forces seized in January. The city’s population was around 73,000 people, but is now declining. down to just a few thousand people.
In December 2022, President Zelensky said the city of Bakhmut had been reduced to rubble following months of intense fighting.
Former Defense Minister of Ukraine Andriy Zagorodnyuk told CNBC that it is extremely important to protect every village, town and city in Ukraine but that sometimes strategic decisions must be made regarding whether to continue. fighting in some areas or not, as was the case with Soledar.
“Certainly, at some point, there will arise the question of whether to withdraw troops from Bakhmut,” Zagorodnyuk said, adding that Ukraine’s forces in Bakhmut are experienced and can avoid being attacked. surrounded, but Ukraine wanted to preserve its troops.
“If Ukraine abandons Bakhmut, it will not be ‘the end of the world’. The loss of Bakhmut does not mean that we have lost the entire Donbass,” the Ukrainian official said.
“Bakhmut is located at the intersection of important roads, so Bakhmut’s geographical location is very important. That is one of the main reasons why we decided that we need to protect this city longer. But it’s not like we should accept any losses to stay afloat. Absolutely not.”
Russia closes the siege of “fire pan” Bakhmut
Meanwhile, Russia seems to believe it will gain control of Bakhmut because it thinks it might achieve some major turning point following a year of military operations in the neighboring country.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that military operations are progressing around Vuhledar and Bakhmut.
“Operations to blockade Bakhmut are being carried out successfully. Russia has made significant progress in some areas of the city. Some major roads have been occupied,” Apty Alaudinov, commander of the Akhmat special forces unit in Lugansk, shared on Telegram.
According to Jamie Shea, a former senior NATO official and international security and defense expert at Chatham House Research Institute, during the battle for Bakhmut, Russia tried to slowly but surely wear down the Ukrainian army, a The tactic is said to have brought some success for Moscow.
“Russia has taken control of Soledar and it seems that they are very close to capturing Bakhmut, possibly surrounding the Ukrainian soldiers who are defending this city,” said Shea.
Meanwhile, Ukraine denies that its troops are in danger of being surrounded in Bakhmut. On February 9, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in an update that the Russian military was “trying to completely control Donetsk and Lugansk”, but the Ukrainian army repelled the attacks. into Bakhmut and neighboring settlements.
