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In a late-night speech and after a meeting with the Ukrainian military high command, President Volodimir Zelenski affirmed that there will be no withdrawal from the city of Bakhmut, practically surrounded by Russian troops. This Tuesday Russia and Ukraine announced a prisoner exchange.
There will be no Ukrainian withdrawal from Bakhmut. At least for the moment. This is the conclusion drawn from the address of Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky on Monday night to the Ukrainian people. Bakhmut is being a major focus of resistance for kyiv and a symbolic place for Moscow.
Its importance led to a new meeting between Zelensky and the country’s top military.
“During the meeting of the General Staff, I asked directly (…) whether to withdraw or reinforce the defense and our positions in the city,” said the president.
He added: “Both generals replied that we should not withdraw, but reinforce. The General Staff unanimously supported this position. There were no other positions. I told the commander-in-chief to find the relevant forces to help our forces in Bakmhut.”
This response from Kiev responds to the speculation that analysts and the media have been carrying out in recent days about a possible tactical withdrawal from the city, in which both armies are suffering a very high number of casualties in combat that has already been prolonged. for seven months.
For many analysts, Bahkmut is already the deadliest battle of the war. In addition, they assure that it has become a more symbolic than strategic place.
Conflicting stories and criticism of the commanders
For Ukraine, Bahkmut means showing that it will not bow down in the face of an attack from Russia, which has exponentially increased ground attacks and shelling on the city.
From the Kremlin, however, they affirm that the capture of the city would be a key step for the domination of Donbas.
“The city is an important center for the defense of Ukrainian troops in the Donbass. Taking it under control will allow further offensive actions to be carried out deep within Ukraine’s defensive lines,” Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday. , who further referred to the city by its Soviet name of “Artiomovsk”.
These statements come after the head of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgueni Prigozhin, denounced the abandonment of Moscow to its mercenaries and to the regular troops on the Bahkmut front, another example of the tension between this paramilitary group, which is increasingly influential among the Russian nationalists, and the Defense Minister.
Prigozhin also spoke on Tuesday about the Ukrainian troops in this battle. He assures that “Zelensky’s people are not finished, they are throwing thousands and thousands of new people into the carnage” and that it is clear that both the Ukrainians and their own soldiers will fight to the end.
Media outlets such as ‘The Kyiv Independent’ also speak of carnage in Ukraine, which published testimonies from soldiers who criticize kyiv’s lack of support for Bahkmut’s front.
Meanwhile, both armies release unverified figures of thousands of casualties perpetrated on their enemies.
New prisoner exchange
The combats and the crossed accusations take place at the same time that both sides negotiate the release of prisoners. This Tuesday, one of those negotiations resulted in the release of 90 Russian soldiers in exchange for 130 Ukrainian prisoners.
From the Russian Ministry of Defense they indicated that their 90 soldiers “were in danger of dying in captivity” and that they will be taken in military transport planes of the Russian Aerospace Forces to Moscow. There they will receive treatment, rehabilitation and psychological assistance.
On the Ukrainian side, they pointed out that among the 130 released there are “soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, members of the National Guard and border guards”, 71 of them belonged to those captured by Russia after taking control of the metallurgical plant in Azovstal in the city of Mariupol.
With Reuters, AP and EFE.
