Zelensky describes the battle in the Donbass as “painful and difficult”

First modification: 03/06/2023 – 01:55Last modification: 03/06/2023 – 02:00

Zelenski daily offers a part of the situation on the ground. This Sunday, the president assured that the Ukrainian forces were in a “painful and difficult” battle against the Army.

The epicenter of the fighting is centered in the east of the country. “I would like to pay a special tribute to the bravery, strength and endurance of the soldiers fighting in the Donbass, Zelensky emphasized.

All eyes are focused on a key city for both sides in the conflict: Bakhmut. The invading forces do not cease in their attempt to surround that enclave. More than 130 assault attempts have been repelled by Ukrainian forces in the last 24 hours, the Ukrainian Army said, in Bakhmut and other strategic points such as Kupiansk, Lyman and Avdiivka.

Despite the possibility of being on the verge of an adverse result, the Ukrainians do not lose hope. The situation is “difficult, but under control,” the spokesman for the Eastern Group of the Ukrainian Army stressed the day before.

Ukrainian units destroyed two bridges in the last 48 hours. The passes were key to advancing to other cities that are part of Ukraine’s supply route. The AP news agency said Bakhmut has witnessed some of the bloodiest ground fighting of the war.

As the battle intensifies, according to the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War, everything points to a gradual withdrawal of Bakhmut’s Ukrainian forces. A staggered operation would allow kyiv to slow the Russian advance while potentially hampering routes leading west.

Strategic importance of Bakhmut

After several weeks of stalemate, taking the Bakhmut enclave would not be a simple victory for Russia. This city is key to the supply lines of the Ukrainians. Seizing the area would also allow Kremlin forces to advance towards Sloviask and Kramatorsk, kyiv’s strongholds in Donetsk.

Another important aspect is ideological. Russia’s loss of ground in Kharkiv and the unfavorable situation in Kherson mean that Russia needs “the optics of some kind of victory to appease critics at home” and show the local public that all is going according to plan, he says. Samuel Ramani, an analyst at the Royal United Services Institute.

Civilians bear the brunt

Bakhmut, which had some 73,000 inhabitants, is almost deserted amid the fighting: 90% of the residents have fled. However, there are people who decide to stay there due to limitations, despite the danger that the current situation represents for their lives.

“The people who left (…) had places to go. But as for us, we have nowhere to go (…) that’s why we are here,” said one of the local citizens who still remains in the place.

Meanwhile, shelling continues in various areas of Ukraine. The governor of the Kharkiv region reported this Sunday about the destruction of about five houses and the death of a civilian, a 65-year-old man. A shell also hit a car in Kharkiv, killing a couple.

On the eve, two people died in Bakhmut. President Zelensky’s office also reported that a woman and two children died in the Kherson region.

with PA