Photo: ALEX WONG / Getty Images / Profimedia
Away from the battle for Kherson, one place is beginning to attract more and more attention from military experts, former generals and military analysts. It is Artemovsk, better known as Bakhmut, as it was renamed by the Ukrainian authorities in 2016.
Wesley Clark, a retired general of the US Army, also spoke about the battle for Bakhmut, who warned the Ukrainian army to hold on to Bakhmut because the city is under enormous pressure from Russian troops.
It seems that the generals of the Russian president Vladimir Putin they begin an attempt to encircle the city, which has been continuously fought over since the invasion of Ukraine in February.
The city is located in the Bakhmut district of the Donetsk region.
Fighting is currently taking place in this area and on the outskirts of the city. Reports are varied and conflicting. Sources say that the private military group Wagner broke through Ukrainian defenses in the area.
This information was confirmed by several sources from the field, but there is still no official statement from the city authorities or the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Some Russian media have already announced that Bahmut is in Russian hands, while others say it will happen soon.
Clark, the former supreme commander of NATO forces in Europe, spoke in an interview with CNN about what Russia may be hoping to achieve with its latest attacks on Ukraine.
He said that Russia can withstand this intensity of missile attacks, drone attacks, for a few more weeks, maybe longer.
Clark pointed out that Russia can’t win on the battlefield, but it can force the Ukrainian people to ask for a truce to restore the energy grid, and that’s what Putin wants.
“He wants the fighting to stop, he wants sanctions relief, he wants to rebuild the military to complete the mission of conquering Ukraine,” Clark said.
Although Clark says the Russians can’t win on the battlefield, it appears they’re trying to win in at least one city in the Donetsk region.
“The way you operate in the military is you have to focus your fighting power. So they’re focusing on this point. If they take Bakhmut, that opens the door to Kramatorsk and Slavyansk,” Clark said.
He added that it also serves as a kind of “killing ground for Ukrainian forces, which is what they want to do.”
The retired American general said what is the main condition for Russia’s “temporary victory” in Ukraine.
He said Russia was setting a “fire trap” for Ukrainian forces in the area. If, according to the general, Ukrainian armed forces suffer significant losses, this will give Russian President Vladimir Putin a trump card to force Kiev into a temporary ceasefire or even a ceasefire.
“If Russian forces manage to suppress Ukrainian troop positions by the time Kherson units get there, Putin will win,” Clarke told CNN.
He also said that continued missile strikes by Russian armed forces on key energy infrastructure sites could translate into continued Russian action. They, as well as the possible control over Bakhmut, represent “an important asset of Moscow”. According to Clarke, “Russia now has what it takes to do significant damage to Ukraine.”
Why is Bahmut important? It is a key city for the counter-offensive of the Ukrainian side. Russia realizes this and has undertaken a number of tactical and strategic objectives to try to turn the tide in its favor.
Western military experts claim that Bahmut could determine the entire special military operation of the Russian Federation.
Video: The first snow fell in Kiev and covered the tanks and wreckage of wrecked vehicles from the fighting: Millions without electricity
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