Ukrainian military leaders could decide to withdraw troops from Bakhmut (east), an adviser to Ukraine’s president admitted this Wednesday, as Russian troops launch a major and protracted offensive to capture the city.
“We will consider all options for our army. So far they have occupied the city, but if necessary there will be a strategic withdrawal.”said Alexander Rodnyansky, an economic adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, quoted by US television channel CNN.
“We are not going to sacrifice all our people for nothing,” he added.
The battle for Bakhmut in the eastern province of Donetsk has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance and as its defenders endured weeks of constant bombardment, and with Russian troops taking heavy casualties in the campaign for control of the city, according to several Ukrainian sources. .
Rodnyansky assured that Russia is using the best troops of the private military group Wagner to try to encircle the city. This military company is run by Yevgeny Prigozhin, with former ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Prigozhin said he saw no signs of Ukrainian withdrawal from the city, admitting that Kiev is strengthening its positions there.
“The Ukrainian army is deploying additional troops and doing what it can to maintain control of the city,” Prigozhin said. “Tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers are putting up strong resistance and the fighting is getting bloodier.”
Recent drone photos show the escalation of devastation in the city, and when Zelensky once considered it “destroyed.”
After invading Ukraine a year ago, Russia bombed several cities and towns it planned to occupy. Energy infrastructure was another target of attacks, in an apparent attempt to weaken the morale of the population and local troops.
Western analysts, quoted by the Associated Press (AP) news agency, have said the return of warm weather could provide an opportunity for Moscow to launch a new offensive and warn of the possibility of a protracted conflict.
The military offensive launched by Russia in Ukraine on February 24, 2022 has so far led to the flight of more than 14 million people – 6.5 million internally displaced persons and more than eight million to European countries – according to the latest data from the UN, which classifies this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since World War II (1939-1945).
At the moment, at least 18 million Ukrainians need humanitarian aid and 9.3 million people need food aid and shelter.
The Russian invasion – justified by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security – was condemned by the international community at large, which responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and Russia to impose political and economic sanctions.
The UN presented 8,101 civilian deaths and 13,479 wounded as confirmed since the start of the war, emphasizing that these numbers are far below the real ones.
Source: DN
