bahmut

Ukraine, which refuted Russia’s claim that it had completely occupied Bakhmut, saying it “was not captured”, announced on the 21st (local time) that it had begun a “tactical encirclement” outside Bakhmut. There is also an analysis that the Ukrainian army, which is preparing for a ‘great counterattack’ to regain territory, is holding Russian troops in Bahmut and at the same time launching an operation to launch a massive counterattack by excluding the Russian army from here.

According to the Associated Press and Reuters, a number of Ukrainian military commanders believe that Russia has control of more than 90% of Bahmut. Ukrainian Ground Forces Commander Oleksandr Shirski, who visited the frontlines of Bahmut that day, admitted that the military only controlled “a small part” of Bahmut, but said “a ‘tactical encirclement’ of Bahmut is the new target.” Ukrainian forces are known to surround the city in a semicircle, centered on some high ground outside Bakhmut.

Ukrainian forces have been defending the area for more than 10 months in a bloody attrition war despite the criticism that Bahmut is of low strategic importance. Some analysts say that Bahmut has become a “symbolic fight” rather than a military goal for both Russia and Ukraine.

But Ukrainian military leaders insist that the resistance of the past few months has tactical value beyond a mere ‘symbolic fight’. It is said that the ‘goal’ of this fight is to weaken the other fronts by tying up Russian troops at Bahmut ahead of a major counterattack, and to drain both Russian military resources and morale. Professor Phillips O’Brien of St Andrews University in the UK, an expert in military strategy, said, “The Russian army has suffered huge losses at Bahmut, and is so exhausted that it cannot advance further around Bahmut.”

The Russian private military company Wagner (Wagner) Group, which has been leading the attack on Bahmut, has announced that it will withdraw from Bahmut on the 25th for the mercenaries to rest. Its head, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said through Telegram again that day, “We have occupied all the territories that we decided to occupy to the last centimeter.” “We will hand over our positions to the Russian Defense Ministry and leave on the 25th.