Kyiv forces will only fight for Artyomovsk/Bakhmut as long as it is reasonable, Ukrainian leader says
The city of Artyomovsk, which Ukraine calls Bakhmut, is important for kyiv, but it will not defend it at any cost, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has said.
Earlier this month, Zelensky insisted that “No one is going to abandon Bakhmut. We will fight as long as we can.
However, he told a different story when asked if it was worth losing men to keep control of the strategic Donbass settlement during an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera on Sunday.
“For us it is important to defend it, but not at any cost and not until everyone dies. We will fight as long as it remains reasonable. replied the Ukrainian leader.
Trying to hold on to Artyomovsk is crucial because “the Russians want to continue towards [the bigger cities of] Kramatorsk and Slaviansk, on the borders of the Donbass and the Dnieper”, he explained.
“We are resisting and, in the meantime, we are preparing our next counterattack”, said Zelensky.
Artyomovsk is an important Ukrainian stronghold and a logistics center of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR). The key town is now on the verge of being surrounded by Russian forces after a battle which lasted for months and had been described by Zelensky himself as “hell” for the kyiv troops.
According to Western media, the US government, which has promised to support Ukraine to “as long as it takes,” urged Kyiv to withdraw from Artyomovsk since late January and instead prepare for future counter-offensives in other areas. However, Zelensky was reluctant to comply with American demands. Senior Biden administration officials told the Washington Post last week that the Ukrainian leader “attaches symbolic importance” to the city and fears a moral setback if he surrenders.
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Yan Gagin, an adviser to acting DPR chief Denis Pushiln, said on Monday that the Ukrainians were clinging to Artyomovsk because other settlements in the region lacked proper fortifications. “They didn’t think they should retreat” he explained. The nearby town of Chasov Yar, where Ukrainian commanders have already been moved, is currently unprepared to resist a Russian advance, according to Gagin.
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