© Reuters. A Ukrainian serviceman stands near a frontline mortar, as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, near the town of Bakhmut, Ukraine, on the frontline, March 6, 2023. REUTERS/Anna Kudriavtseva
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By Oleksandr Kozhukhar
KYIV (Reuters) – Ukraine’s top generals have vowed to continue defending the eastern city of Bakhmut, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, as Russian forces fought to tighten their siege and secure their first major battlefield victory in more than six months. .
Russian forces have been trying to take Bakhmut for months and say capturing it would be a step towards their goal of taking over the entire surrounding Donbas region. But Western strategists say it would be more of a Pyrrhic victory given the time it took and the casualties suffered.
Ukrainian troops have been reinforcing positions to the west of the city in apparent preparation for a possible withdrawal, but it appears that they have not decided to withdraw.
Zelenskiy said he discussed Bakhmut with higher-ups and was told “not to retreat” and instead strengthen the city’s defenses.
“The command unanimously supported this position. There were no other positions. I told the commander-in-chief to find the appropriate forces to help our guys in Bakhmut,” Zelenskiy said in his late-night speech on Monday.
The head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary force, which led the assault on Bakhmut, said on Monday he needed more ammunition from the regular army if he wanted to win the battle.
The appeal by Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin underscores his growing rift with the Russian Defense Ministry, which he has accused of deliberately depriving his men of ammunition, a charge the ministry has denied.
“I am knocking on all doors and raising the alarm about ammunition and reinforcements, as well as the need to cover our flanks,” he said in a statement.
“If everyone is coordinated, without ambition, without mistakes or tantrums, and they carry out this job, we will block the Ukrainian armed forces. If not, everyone is screwed.”
There was no response from the Russian Defense Ministry.
‘INVISIBLE HAND’
The Ukrainian military command on Tuesday reported a record 1,600 Russians killed in the previous 24 hours, bringing its tally of Russian soldiers killed to 154,830.
The data could not be independently verified, and the command did not give details of Ukrainian casualties.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has expanded a US cluster bomb request to include a weapon it wants to cannibalize so that the minibombs it contains can be dropped on Russian forces from drones, according to two US lawmakers.
Cluster bombs are widely denounced by humanitarian groups for the toll their minibombs inflict on the civilian population, sometimes years after the war in which the munitions were used has ended.
The United States and its allies have imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia and sent billions of dollars in security assistance to Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Russia’s ally China renewed a call for dialogue, saying sanctions and pressure would not end the war.
“The process of peace talks should start as soon as possible and the legitimate security concerns of all parties should be respected,” Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said on the sidelines of a parliament meeting in Beijing.
Qin said an invisible hand was driving an escalation and that the threat of sanctions against China if it provided weapons to Russia was “absolutely unacceptable” as it “has not provided weapons to either party.”
China has refused to identify Russia as the aggressor in the conflict.
‘GRADUAL WITHDRAWAL FROM STRUGGLE’
On the battlefield, Ukrainian soldiers repelled more than 140 Russian attacks over the past day, the Ukrainian military said on Tuesday.
“The enemy, despite significant losses, continues to storm the city of Bakhmut and its surroundings,” he said.
Russian forces trying to cut off Ukrainian defenders launched 37 attacks near the village of Dubovo-Vasylivka just northwest of Bakhmut alone, the army said.
Reuters was unable to verify the reports from the battlefield.
Roman Svitan, a colonel in the Ukrainian army in the reserves, said in comments to Espreso TV that Bakhmut had to be stopped to prevent advances towards Sloviansk, Kramatorsk and Druzhkivka, cities further west of Donetsk.
But some say a gradual withdrawal may be prudent.
Ukraine may “pursue a gradual withdrawal from the fighting to exhaust Russian forces through continued urban warfare,” the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said in an assessment.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Bakhmut had more symbolic than operational significance and that his downfall would not “necessarily mean that the Russians have turned the tide in this fight.”
Russia’s offensive has produced no notable gains, failing to take ground in the Luhansk province further north and suffering heavy losses, particularly around Vuhledar to the south.
The administration in the Kherson region, also in the south, said early Tuesday that Russian forces had attacked 65 times in the past 24 hours and four people were injured.
Russia initially described its February 24, 2022 invasion as a “special military operation” to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine, but now increasingly presents it as a fight against aggression from the “collective West.”
kyiv and the West say it is a baseless pretext for an illegal land grab.