Zelenskiy’s top adviser reveals why Ukrainians stayed to fight in Bahmut: “We have two goals”

Zelensky, a top adviser to President Volodymyr, has said that Ukraine has decided to continue fighting in the ruined city of Bahmut as it has shaken and weakened Russia’s best units ahead of a planned counteroffensive by the Ukrainians this spring. .

Myhailo Podoliak’s statements are the latest signal of a shift in position in Kiev, which has decided to continue to defend the small city in the east of the country, the theater of the war’s bloodiest battle, at which Moscow has thrown everything it can. Trying to get his first win in over half a year.

“Russia has changed tactics,” Podoliak said in an interview published by Italian newspaper La Stampa. “It has concentrated most of its trained military personnel, remnants of its professional army and private (mercenary) companies in Bahmut,” he said. He explained.

Zelensky’s most important adviser: “We have two goals”

“Therefore, we have two objectives: to reduce their effective personnel as much as possible and to push them back in some key critical battles, to block their offensive and to concentrate our resources elsewhere for a counter-offensive in the spring. . So, at this point, Bahmuth is fully operational, surpassing his main roles.” Podoliak added.

Russia made Bahmuth the primary target of a winter offensive involving hundreds of thousands of reservists and mercenaries. He managed to capture the eastern part of the city and the northern and southern suburbs, but so far could not close the circle around the Ukrainian defenders there.

Kiev, which appeared to retreat to the western parts of the city in early March, announced earlier this week that its commanders had decided to reinforce their forces in Bahmut and continue fighting.

In a morning update, the Ukrainian General Staff reported a high number of attacks on the front and said “the enemy has not stopped attacks on Bahmuth”.

Ukrainian general: The situation is “very difficult”.

In its latest assessment released Thursday night by the Institute for War Studies, Group Wagner’s offensive in eastern Bahmut appears to have entered a tactical pause and the Russian regular army appears to be the “first violin” in the offensive. On the city.

Ukraine’s military has prevented Russian troops from encircling Bahmut, but the situation on the battlefield in the area is “very difficult,” the commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, Col. Gen. Oleksandr Chirsky, said Thursday.

Moscow says capturing Bahmut would be a step towards capturing all of the Ukrainian industrial region of Donbass, a key target. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday that capturing the city would breach Ukrainian defenses and allow Moscow to advance on Ukrainian territory.

Intense trench warfare, described by both sides as a “miniature” of men, resulted in heavy casualties. But the fact that Kiev continues to fight rather than back down is a sign that it considers Russia’s losses far greater than its own.