President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky sounds the alarm, in an interview he gave to a French newspaper Le Figarowhat if the Russians understand Bahamut (i.e. a city in eastern Ukraine where fierce fighting has been going on for months), they will get an “advantage” and will want to “move on”.

“Of course, from a strategic point of view, Bahamut does not matter much, because the Russians completely destroyed the city with their artillery. But if they understand Bahamut, they will want to go further. It will give them an advantage,” he says, adding: “The question is what will happen after Bahamut.”

“We have to hold on until we get (more) weapons,” Zelensky stressed.

Bakhmut, a city of about 700,000 before the Russian invasion, has been one of the main fighting fronts in eastern Ukraine since the summer. The city is almost completely destroyed, and the few thousand remaining inhabitants are mostly in shelters.

The battle of Bakhmut became symbolic, not least because of the presence of Wagner mercenaries, who were striving to bring a major victory to the Russian army, which was forced to retreat after the autumn counter-offensive of Ukrainian troops.

In recent weeks, Russian troops have gradually strengthened in the region and at the end of January captured Soledar, which is located near Bakhmut. The potential capture of Bakhmut opened the way for the Russian invaders to Kramatorsk, a large industrial center of the Donetsk region.

AFP