Today, Thursday, Ukrainian forces hold their ground in the devastated eastern town of Bakhmut under continuous fire from Russian troops as they aim for their first major victory in more than half a year.

Russia says the capture of Bakhmut will pave the way for full control of the rest of the strategic industrial region of Donbass, bordering Russia, which is one of the main targets of the invasion.

Ukraine claims that Bakhmut is of limited strategic importance, but nevertheless puts up fierce resistance. Not everyone in Ukraine is convinced that the defense of Bakhmut can continue indefinitely.

“I think that sooner or later we will probably have to leave Bahamut. It makes no sense to keep him at any cost,” Ukrainian deputy Sergei Rakhmanin told NV radio on Wednesday evening.

“But for now, we will defend Bakhmut with several goals – firstly, to inflict as many losses on the Russians as possible, and secondly, to force Russia to expend its ammunition and resources.”

The Battle of Bahamut began about seven months ago, but in recent weeks the Russian advance from three sides has left the defenders with only one outlet to the west.

“There is a risk that our troops will be surrounded in Bakhmut,” military analyst Oleg Zhdanov said in a YouTube post, describing the situation as “critical.”

“The enemy is trying to cut off the supply corridors of our troops in Bahamut and stop any movement along them,” he said. “Russian troops cannot win street battles in Bakhmut or take the city with a frontal attack. The only way to take the city is to surround it.”

Zhdanov detailed Russia’s attempts to force Ukrainian troops to leave their positions on the eastern bank of the Bakhmutka River.

“They apply what can be called colossal pressure, with successive attacks. They bring in reinforcements in trucks and pick up their wounded in the same trucks. This process is continuous – like a conveyor belt – around the clock.

Thousands of civilians remain in the ruined city, which had a pre-war population of around 70,000.

“Winter is over”

The Ukrainian military said late Wednesday that the Russians were trying to advance towards Bakhmut “without interruption” and President Volodymyr Zelensky said his forces were “in control of all sectors of the front.”

Russian troops are also preparing for new attacks in Zaporozhye, in the center of the country, as well as on the southern front, in the Kherson region, the army said. According to the same statement, more than 40 cities and villages were bombed, including the regional center of Kherson and other cities on the western bank of the Dnieper, abandoned by Russia in November.

The war took center stage ahead of the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi with the EU foreign policy chief. say that their success will be measured by what they can do to help end the conflict.

Ukrainians and Russians traditionally celebrate March 1 as the beginning of spring, and the frozen ground melted on the fronts, and the infamous time in history for wallowing in black mud has come – “off-road” in Ukrainian, “thaw” in Russian. to destroy the attacking armies.

“Winter is over. It was very hard, and every Ukrainian, without exaggeration, felt the difficulties,” Zelensky said in a video message after the meeting on energy issues.

“However, we managed to provide Ukraine with energy and heat. The threat to the power system remains. And work continues to ensure that it continues to work,” Zelensky said.

Russia regularly launched rocket attacks on power plants. Ukraine called the move a calculated strategy to undermine the morale of citizens.

Censorship

Ukraine and its Western allies describe Russia’s war as unprovoked, aimed at crushing its European neighbor, which was part of the Soviet Union until it collapsed in 1991.

Russia accuses the West of provoking a “special military operation” aimed at eliminating security threats and of prolonging the conflict by supporting the Kyiv government with weapons.

A senior Russian lawmaker said he was amending a wartime censorship law that would increase the penalty for discrediting the military from five to 15 years in prison and extend the law to Wagner mercenaries.

A Russian Defense Ministry inspection has shown that Moscow is developing a new type of military strategy using nuclear weapons to defend against a possible US attack, the RIA news agency reported Thursday.

The magazine article is the latest in a series of aggressive comments from Russian politicians and commentators after the invasion of Ukraine, suggesting that Russia will be ready to develop its nuclear arsenal if necessary.

Source: Reuters.