The Ukrainian army has assured that its troops have the option of withdrawing from the eastern city of Bakhmut, in the Donetsk region, where they are engaged in heavy fighting with Russian troops, but such a decision will only be taken if it is “absolutely necessary”.
“As long as the command sees that it makes sense to keep a certain settlement, they will fight for it,” spokesman for the Eastern Operational Command Serhiy Cherevaty told local Ukrainian television.
The strategic city of Bakhmut has been, for weeks, the epicenter of the fighting between the Ukrainians and the Russians, since control of the area would allow the Moscow Army to seize a corridor in eastern Ukraine through which it might transport troops and material. in a safe way.
The group called Wagner also operates in this area, a mercenary unit linked to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and which is the Kremlin’s main assault force.
For now, Ukrainian forces are “heroically” holding on to the largely destroyed city, even “as Russia steps up its deadly attack.”
