Braving Violent Conflict: Commander Wagner’s Approach to Bakhmut

Ukrainian and Russian forces have announced they are fighting “fierce battles” for control of the eastern Ukrainian city center of Bakhmut, which Moscow has been trying to control since the summer despite heavy losses. And this city has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance in the face of the Kremlin, and Kyiv hopes to wear down the enemy forces there in order to be able to go on a broad counteroffensive. The army media quotes the words of the commander of the Ground Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Sersky: “The offensive units (which are part of the Russian armed group) “Wagner” attack from several directions in an attempt to break through the defenses of our troops and advance to the front. central quarters. This happened when Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner group, whose fighters are fighting on the front lines of this battle, said: “The closer we get to the city center, the more intense the fighting, the more artillery is used.” Sersky confirmed that Ukrainian troops “inflicted heavy losses on the enemy” in this battle, which is the longest since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. “All attempts to capture the city have been repulsed … artillery and tanks are firing,” he said. Prigogine acknowledged that his troops met with fierce resistance. “The situation in Bakhmut is complex, very complex,” he said in a social media post. The enemy is fighting for every meter.” “Ukrainians are throwing endless precautions (into battle),” he added. A few months ago, the city of Bakhmut, which had a population of 70,000 prior to the Russian invasion in February 2022, became the center of fighting on the eastern front in Ukraine. Although the city, much of which was destroyed by bombing, has become a symbol of fierce Ukrainian resistance to the invasion, analysts question its strategic importance. In this context, some in Ukraine are questioning the need for the Kyiv forces to fight for this city, the defense of which also inflicted heavy losses on the Ukrainian army. It is likely that these losses will increase if Russian troops are able to surround Bakhmut, after they managed to cut off a number of important supply routes for Ukrainian soldiers. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned last week that Bakhmut could fall “in the coming days.” It is important for the Ukrainian military leadership to keep Bakhmut as long as possible so that Russia will use the largest number of its people, weapons and ammunition there and will be weak when Ukraine launches a counterattack. “We need to buy time to take precautions and launch a counterattack,” General Sirsky said on Saturday. Ukraine intends to attack the Russian army in the coming weeks or months in order to return the occupied territories after previous victories in 2022 in the south, north and east. Therefore, he is counting on the provision of Western weapons, especially tanks and artillery ammunition, the range of which exceeds 100 kilometers. This was promised by Europeans and Americans, but delivery is slow and difficult. Internationally, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sparked a surge in Europe’s arms imports that nearly doubled in 2022, according to a report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). And after not recording significant arms imports, Ukraine became the third arms destination with the war, and alone accounted for 31% of Europe’s arms imports and 8% of global arms transactions, according to data obtained by AFP from the institute as part of its annual report. The institute indicated that Kyiv’s imports, including supplies provided by the West, increased more than sixty-fold in 2022. With an increase of 93% within one year, imports also increased due to the acceleration of military spending by several European countries. countries such as Poland and Norway and the acceleration is expected to be greater based on this reference study. Also on the ground, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that its units managed to neutralize about 170 Ukrainian servicemen in the areas of Kobyansk and Krasny Liman. “In the direction of Kobyansk, the active actions of units and artillery fire of the “Western” group of troops attacked units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the districts of Masyotovka and Krakhmalnoe of the Kharkiv region, Stelmakhovka and Rozovka of the Lugansk People’s Republic,” the ministry said in a daily statement. More than 60 Ukrainian soldiers and two vehicles were destroyed. In the direction of Krasny Liman, the Ministry of Defense explained that the artillery fire of the Group of Forces (forces) “Center” hit enemy manpower and equipment in the areas of Nevskoye, Chervonaya Dibrova of the Luhansk Republic and Ternoy and Grigorovka of the Donetsk region. People’s Republic. “In the Donetsk direction, as a result of the active actions of the units of the “southern” group of forces, air strikes and artillery shelling, 190 Ukrainian servicemen were liquidated, three tanks, two armored combat vehicles and fourteen vehicles were destroyed, in addition to the destruction of the Msta-B howitzer during the day,” added in defense. And further in the statement: “In the directions south of Donetsk and Zaporozhye, combat, tactical and artillery aviation of the Vostok group of forces inflicted a defeat on units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the area of ​​​​the city of Oglidar of the Donetsk People’s Republic. , as well as Poltavka, Gulyapoli and Cherbaki in the Zaporozhye region. Up to 60 Ukrainian servicemen were destroyed and two pickup trucks were destroyed, as well as D-20 and D-30 artillery mounts. She added: “In one day, air defense systems shot down 12 HIMARS repeating missiles and one HARM anti-radar missile. In addition, 16 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles were destroyed in Novodyanoe, Svatovo, Novoaleksandrivka and Novokrasnyanka districts of Lugansk. Vladimirovka and Yegorovka of the Donetsk People’s Republic, Vasilievka of the Zaporozhye province and Novaya Zborievka and Konstantinovka of the Kherson province.