The capture of the city of Bakhmout, the epicenter of fierce fighting in eastern Ukraine for months, is necessary for the continuation of the Russian offensive, the Russian Defense Minister said on Tuesday.
"This city is an important node (of the lines) of defense of the Ukrainian soldiers in the Donbass. Its takeover will make it possible to carry out new in-depth offensive operations against the defense of the armed forces of Ukraine", declared Sergei Shoigu, during of a meeting of executives from his ministry, broadcast on television.
Since the summer, Bakhmout has been at the heart of a Russian offensive which has ravaged the city, without however resulting in its occupation so far. In recent weeks, the Russians have made slight advances and now seem to control access to the city from the north, south and east, creating the threat of encirclement.
The troops of the paramilitary group Wagner lead this attack, at the cost of very significant losses, according to its founder Evguéni Prigojine.
Mr. Prigojine is also in open conflict with the Russian military hierarchy, which he regularly accuses of not delivering enough ammunition to his men engaged on the front line in Bakhmout.
Asked about Mr. Shoigu's latest statements on Tuesday, Mr. Prigojine refused to comment, dismissively declaring that he had "not met" the minister in Bakhmout, where he himself claims to have been.
Wagner's boss nevertheless called for "not putting the cart before the horse by saying that we have taken Bakhmout" while according to him between 12,000 and 20,000 Ukrainian fighters are still defending the city.
"It will be very complicated to kill between 12,000 and 20,000 Ukrainian soldiers by tomorrow morning. The only maestros capable of doing this are at the army headquarters and the (Soviet cartoon studio) Soyuzmultfilm," he said. he quipped.
On the Ukrainian side, as speculation of a withdrawal grew, the authorities announced on Monday that they were not giving up on the city and would instead send reinforcements.
Because this battle allows, according to Ukrainian officials, to weaken the Russian forces, which suffered very heavy losses there without gaining a decisive advantage, and this while the city does not have an obvious strategic interest.
Mr. Prigojine also acknowledged on Tuesday that "fierce fighting is taking place night and day, but the Ukrainians are not fleeing". "They have ammunition, weapons (...) They are dying in numbers for Bakhmout and only surrender as a last resort. Stop calling them cowards," he said.
At the same time, Ukraine says it is preparing a counter-offensive, while it is soon awaiting the delivery of new Western weapons.
Bakhmout has become highly symbolic, due to the efforts made by both sides since the summer to control this city which today has less than 4,000 civilians, according to Kiev, against some 70,000 before the start of the Russian military intervention.
07/03/2023 14:59:31 - Moscow (AFP) - © 2023 AFP
