KYIV: Ukraine pledged on Monday (Mar 6) to bolster its defences in frontline Bakhmut, after reports that Kyiv was withdrawing from the city that has become a symbolic prize in the war.
But Ukrainian forces fighting to retain control of the salt-mining town told AFP that its capture by Russia was inevitable and that some units had already begun to pull back.
The eastern Ukrainian city has been badly damaged during the longest and bloodiest battle since Russia's more than year-long invasion.
Kyiv says the fighting is becoming increasingly difficult and analysts say its forces may have initiated a strategic retreat.
But President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with top commanders Monday and his office said they favoured "continuing the defensive operation and further strengthening our positions in Bakhmut".
Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhaylo Podolyak also told AFP there was a "consensus" within the military on the need to "continue defending" the city.
Neither side has said how many troops they have lost in the battle, with observers saying both Moscow and Kyiv are trying to exhaust each other.
Outside Bakhmut, some Ukrainian soldiers had lost hope that Kyiv would hold the city and looked set to retreat.
Near the town of Chasiv Yar, 10km west of Bakhmut, one soldier said he came to repair his tank after a month of fighting.
"Bakhmut will fall," he told AFP from the vehicle, fatigue showing on his face.
"RETREATING IN GROUPS"
"We are almost encircled. The units are progressively retreating in small groups."
He said the only path out of Bakhmut was over dirt roads that lead to Chasiv Yar. If tanks get bogged down there, he said, they could become a target for artillery fire.
But a senior Ukrainian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that "considering the current positions" of Kyiv's forces near Bakhmut, it is "impossible to besiege" the city.
The US-based Institute for the Study of War has said Ukrainian forces may have initiated a strategic retreat from the town.
"Ukrainian forces are likely conducting a limited tactical withdrawal in Bakhmut, although it is still too early to assess Ukrainian intentions concerning a complete withdrawal from the city," it said in a recent analytical note.
The Ukrainian army said on Sunday that its troops had fought off "more than 130" Russian attacks in a single day around Bakhmut and said Moscow's forces were trying to encircle the city.
About 4,500 civilians remain in Bakhmut, Ukrainian officials have said.
In Chasiv Yar, an elderly woman named Antonina said she was scared but determined to stay in the village where she was born.
The 82-year-old said she survives on humanitarian aid and vegetables from her garden.
She said strikes were more intense at the end of last week.
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiY2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vd29ybGQvdWtyYWluZS1tb3Zlcy1mb3J0aWZ5LWVtYmF0dGxlZC1iYWtobXV0LXJ1c3NpYS1jbG9zZXMtMzMyODk3MdIBAA?oc=5
2023-03-06 16:24:00Z
1798550053
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar