Ukraine Bakhmut 6 Months Longest Battle ‘Continued Vs Opposition’ Confrontation

Regarding Bakhmut, which became a bloody battle for six months in a popular tourist destination with a population of 70,000, Ukrainian and Western officials insisted on continuing, saying, 'Russia's combat losses are much higher than Ukraine', and Western experts said, "Bakhmut defenses distract Ukraine's available resources from a planned counteroffensive later in the spring."

Michael Kofman, Russia research director at the Washington-based think tank CAN, said Ukrainian combat defenders "achieved a lot at the cost of Russian manpower and ammunition, but it might be prudent for Ukraine to save troops for future offensive operations." “There is,” he told the AP on the 7th.

"Strategy can reach a point of diminishing returns," he said.

The AP said, “What could happen next? Ukrainian and Western officials stress that Ukraine's retreat from Bakhmut would not have strategic importance or change the course of the conflict."

The New York Times said, “As the fight for Bahmut appears to be entering a decisive phase, both sides are trying to justify huge losses by presenting them as beneficial to their cause in small towns of limited strategic value.” is the same claim. Fighting there is worth the terrible cost because it wears out the enemy.”

Yegveny V. Prigozhin, founder of Wagner, a mercenary group that appeared in the Western media during the Battle of Bakhmut, said, “The group’s triple-digit daily casualty rate sucks experienced Ukrainian troops into what they call the ‘Bakhmut meat grinder.’ We are subverting their plan of attack elsewhere.”

On the 6th, Ukrainian President Zelensky denied the theory of Bakhmut's withdrawal, saying, "Ukrainian commanders will send reinforcements to Bahmut," saying, "The battle has tied up the huge Russian army."

As Ukrainian forces finally retreated from the city, they reinforced the defenses west of Bakhmut to stop the Russian advance.

On the battlefield, the NYT said, “The nearby town of Chasiv Yar, located in the hills just a few kilometers to the west, could be the next bulwark against the Russians. Further west, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk connect to the heavily fortified Ukrainian fortifications in Donetsk,” he said, describing the battleground area.

Bakhmut was an important center for salt and gypsum mining in the Donetsk region of Donbas, the center of eastern Ukraine, with a population of 70,000 before the war, and was famous for the production of sparkling wine from historic underground caves.

Historically, the stately town center with its wide tree-lined streets, lush parks and late 19th-century buildings has been a popular tourist attraction, but in August last year Russian forces first tried to retake Bahmut but retreated.

What turned into a full-fledged battleground resumed at full speed late last year as Russian forces faced Ukrainian counterattacks from the east and south. Advances into the suburbs, and merciless Russian bombardments have turned Bahmut into a smoky wasteland with few buildings.

Now Russian and Ukrainian soldiers are the focus of fierce trench battles in the ruins.

Six months of bloody fighting over the small town of Bakhmut began in late February as Russian troops approached the only highway leading from the city and targeted their targets with artillery fire, before Ukrainian fighters began to move their equipment more and more on rural roads that were difficult to move before the muddy ground dried. They are forced to depend on it and are covered with 'corpses of the army'.

“For the Kremlin, occupation of Bakhmut is essential to achieving its stated goal of gaining control of all of Donetsk, one of four Ukrainian regions that Moscow illegally annexed in September,” said Sergei Shoigu, Russian Defense Director. The minister said on the 7th that the seizure of Bahmut could allow Russia to launch further attacks in the region.”

Bakhmut became a "separatist-controlled city" when Russia illegally annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and weeks later Russian-backed separatist insurgencies swept through Donbass, but months later the separatists were pushed out and the pro-Western city became pro-Western. done.