Ukrainian troops conducting weekend training near the city of Siversk in the east of the country said they were preparing to defend one of the possible targets of a new Russian offensive, Reuters reports. “If they take Bakhmut, we will be semi-encircled.”

A Ukrainian military man on Nezalezhnosti Street in BakhmutPhoto: LIBKOS / AP / Profimedia

Siversk, which had a pre-war population of 10,000, is 35 kilometers north of Bakhmut – the site of fierce fighting in recent weeks – and is on a direct route to another key city in Donetsk region, Slovyansk.

“If they took Bakhmut, we would be semi-encircled, because we have Donets on our left, and the enemy will advance from the right, and we can be blocked if they go to the Bakhmut highway,” he said. the deputy commander of the Siver battalion, who had the battle call sign “Ghan”.

Ukrainian forces have turned to more modern weapons from Kyiv’s Western allies to help defend Bakhmut, which is under attack by Wagner’s mercenary group.

A soldier defending Siversk said their artillery, mostly Soviet, had been defeated by the enemy.

“We have an artillery strike on our side, and the Russians can do it five times more,” said Stefan, 30. “It’s very difficult for the guys sitting especially on the front line (of defense), I feel it too much.”

The capture of Bakhmut would give Russian troops a stepping stone to attack two larger cities to the west — Kramatorsk and Slavyansk.

But Ukraine and its Western allies say that if Moscow succeeds, it will be a largely “pyrical” victory, given the time and losses on the Russian side.

Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign affairs chief, warned on Sunday, the final day of the Munich Security Conference, that the war in Ukraine would end unless the EU found a way to speed up the supply of ammunition to Kyiv within weeks. .

“We are in emergency war mode,” he said. “This ammunition shortage needs to be resolved quickly; it’s a matter of weeks.” He said that if this did not happen, the war would be over.

Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Sunday that the training of Ukrainian crews for the AMX-10 is “almost complete” and the first machines will be sent “by the end of next week”.