The head of the Ground Forces of Ukraine, Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi, states that the Ukrainian army is trying to catch the Russian invaders in a “Zugzwang” position, reports Ukrinform.

“In chess, zugzwang is a situation where any move by a player leads to a deterioration of his position. We are doing everything to put the enemy in this situation in this war. The defense forces are working. We are proud of every soldier and commander,” he wrote in his Telegram channel.

The term is also applied to military conflicts where a combatant is at the point of no return, losing both if they attack and if they retreat.

Two days ago, he said that the battles for the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region had reached the highest level of intensity, the Russians had introduced additional units of Wagner’s mercenaries led by Yevhen Prigozhin into the battle.

Sirskyi has been the commander of the Ground Forces of Ukraine since 2019. In the early months of the invasion launched by Vladimir Putin last year, he led the defense of Kyiv, resistance by Ukrainian forces in the capital region eventually led to the withdrawal of Russian troops. from there at the end of March.

Later, he also led a lightning offensive in the Kharkiv region, which led to the catastrophic collapse of the Russian front in northeastern Ukraine. Some western websites have described it as the most successful overall of the 21st century.

Fears that the Ukrainian military may lose control over Bakhmut

But his new comments came amid fears that the city of Bakhmut could fall into the hands of the Russian army and Yevgeny Prigozhin’s mercenaries, who are taking part in the assaults here.

Early on Wednesday morning, Prigozhin announced that the entire eastern part of Bakhmut had been captured by his paramilitary group.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with CNN on Tuesday evening that the loss of this city in the Donetsk region would leave “the way open” for Russian troops to seize key cities in eastern Ukraine.

“We understand that after Bakhmut he could go further. He could go to Kramatorsk, he could go to Sloviansk, it would be an open road for the Russians after Bakhmut to other cities of Ukraine, in the direction of Donetsk,” the Kyiv leader told CNN.

“This is a tactic for us. That’s why our guys stay there,” Zelensky emphasized, insisting that Kyiv’s military leadership is the only one in strengthening the city’s defenses.

His comments came after German newspaper Bild reported earlier this week, based on sources in Kyiv’s political leadership, that Zelenskyi and the Chief of the General Staff of Ukraine, General Valery Zaluzhnyi, would not agree on leaving Bakhmut.

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