The Ukrainian army on Tuesday vowed not to give up the eastern city of Bakhmut as it prepares to launch a counteroffensive against Russian forces, Reuters reported.

The commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, emphasized the importance Kyiv attaches to holding Bakhmut as it continues preparations for a counterattack that it hopes will change the dynamics of the war in Ukraine.

The Battle of Bakhmut is symbolic for both sides, and Ukraine still controls part of the city after months of fierce fighting against Russian regulars and Wagner’s mercenary fighters.

“Together with the command, we made a number of necessary decisions aimed at ensuring effective defense and inflicting maximum losses on the enemy,” said Sirsky after visiting the troops fighting in Bakhmut.

“We will continue, against all predictions and advice, to hold on to Bakhmut, destroying the Wagner and other most capable units of the Russian army,” he told soldiers in a video recording of his visit.

“We are giving our reserves the opportunity to prepare and are preparing ourselves for further action,” Sirsky added.

On Monday, he said Ukrainian units had pushed Russian forces out of some positions in Bakhmut with counterattacks, adding that new Russian units, including paratroopers and fighters from the Wagner mercenary group, were “continually rushing into battle” despite suffering heavy casualties. .

Wagner’s group said its units had made little progress in the city.

Russia considers the 70,000-strong city of Bakhmut as a springboard for an attack on other cities of Ukraine.

The White House said on Monday that Russia had used up a large part of its military stockpiles and armed forces, with about 100,000 Russian soldiers killed or wounded in Ukraine over the past five months.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the US believes about 20,000 Russian soldiers have been killed since December.

Half of them are part of Wagner’s private military group, Kirby said. He added that the Russian offensive on Bakhmut, in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine, “has stalled” and “failed.”

Prigozhin, the founder of Wagner’s private paramilitary group, said his soldiers needed at least 300 tons of artillery shells a day to support the assault on the town of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region.