Ukraine has pledged to double down on the city’s defense even as both sides take heavy casualties.
KILLING ZONE?
Konrad Muzyka, a Polish military analyst who recently visited the Bakhmut area with colleagues, said he thought it no longer made military sense to hold the city. Both would be in easy range of Russian artillery. Moscow needs to control both to complete what it calls its “liberation” of the “People’s Republic of Donetsk.”
Russia’s chaotic withdrawal from Ukraine’s northeast last year also deprived it of territory that would have made it easier for its forces to seize cities like Sloviansk once they had control of Bakhmut.For Russia, Bakhmut would be a morale-boosting battlefield win after a string of defeats last year.
Retaining the city helps sustain support from Western countries, proving it is making a difference, according to Michael Kofman, an expert on the Russian military at the U.S.-based CAN think-tank.
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