Explained: What Happens To Bakhmut As Ukraine Prepares For A Russian Threat
Written byTimes Magazine
Ukrainians said they were preparing to defend one of the possible targets of a new Russian offensive during exercises near the eastern city of Seversk. Siversk is north of Bakhmut, which has been heavily contested in recent weeks. Bakhmut is of paramount importance as it is on the direct route to another key city in Donetsk region, Sloviansk.
"If they took Bakhmut, we would be half surrounded, because on the left we have the Siversky Donets river, and the enemy will attack from the right, and we can be cut off when they reach the Bakhmut highway," said the deputy commander of the Siwersk battalion, according to the Reuters news agency.
Ukraine has also asked the West for more advanced weapons to defend Bakhmut, which is under attack by the Russian Wagner Group.
Experts fear that taking Bakhmut will give Russian forces a stepping stone to the West, to Kramatorsk and Slavyansk. Even if the West downplays Bakhmut's importance.
Meanwhile, Russia's Defense Ministry said its military had captured Hrianykivka, a village in eastern Ukraine's Kharkiv Oblast, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the forces in the region and said in a video address that "that's where the most brutal and important fighting took place take place".
Earlier this week, the West pledged to increase its support for Ukraine, as White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby conceded that Russia had "further gains in and around Bakhmut." suffered more than 30,000 casualties, of which approximately 9,000 were killed in action," he said.
Trending News
