KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy publicly committed his troops to holding out in Bakhmut after days in which they had seemed likely to withdraw, apparently prolonging the war's bloodiest battle in a bid to break Moscow's assault force.
Moscow has sent thousands of troops in human wave attacks over recent weeks to try to capture the eastern Ukrainian city and secure its first battlefield victory in more than half a year. Ukrainian forces have dug trenches further west and in recent days had seemed to be preparing to pull out.
But Zelenskiy's remarks in an overnight address suggested Kyiv had elected not only to stay and fight on but to reinforce the city, apparently convinced that Russia's losses in trying to storm it would be greater than those of the defenders.
"The command unanimously supported" the decision not to withdraw, Zelenskiy said. "There were no other positions. I told the commander in chief to find the appropriate forces to help our guys in Bakhmut."
Russia, which launched a full-scale attack of Ukraine a year ago and claims to have annexed nearly a fifth of its territory, says taking Bakhmut would be a step towards seizing the surrounding industrial Donbas region, a major war aim.
"The liberation of Artemovsk continues," Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said in televised remarks, using the Soviet-era name for Bakhmut, re-adopted by the Russians.
"The city is an important hub for defending Ukrainian troops in the Donbas. Taking it under control will allow further offensive actions to be conducted deep into Ukraine's defensive lines."
Western strategists say the ruined city has limited value, and Russia's assault may be motivated by a need for a symbolic victory at the end of a winter offensive involving hundreds of thousands of conscripted reservists and fighters from the Wagner private army.
The Ukrainian military command on Tuesday reported a record 1,600 Russians killed over the previous 24 hours. Such figures of enemy dead cannot be confirmed and the sides do not release regular figures of their own casualties. But past Ukrainian reports of similar spikes in Russian losses have corresponded with major failed Russian assaults.
Reuters journalists have not been inside Bakhmut for a week and could not independently verify the situation there.
Urban warfare typically favours defenders. Some Ukrainian officials have spoken in recent days of a ratio of as many as seven Russians killed at Bakhmut for every Ukrainian lost.
"The opportunity to damage the Wagner Group’s elite elements, along with other elite units if they are committed, in a defensive urban warfare setting where the attrition gradient strongly favours Ukraine is an attractive one," wrote the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War.
WISDOM
Still, not every Western expert agrees with the wisdom of Ukraine fighting on in Bakhmut.
"From artillery ammo shortages, increasingly contested lines of communication, and an attritional battle in unfavourable terrain - this fight doesn’t play to Ukraine’s advantages as a force," wrote Michael Kofman, a US-based expert on Russia's military who visited Bakhmut last week.
On Russia's side, the Bakhmut battle has exposed a rift between the regular military and Wagner, whose boss Yevgeny Prigozhin has released videos in recent days accusing officials of withholding ammunition from his men.
The Russian defence ministry denies withholding ammunition from Wagner but has not responded to Prigozhin's latest accusations. The Kremlin has remained silent over the feud.
Mark Hertling, a retired former commander of US ground forces in Europe, said the quarrel helps Kyiv. "The opponent - in this case, Ukraine - rejoices, as a lack of unity of command creates enemy dysfunction and countless offensive opportunities," he tweeted. -- Reuters
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