While in December last year speaking in the US Congress, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky compared the Battle of Bakhmut to the Battle of Saratoga, in which the American revolutionaries won a decisive victory against the British in October 1777. our freedom,” he said. Five months later, Bakhmut is no longer in Ukraine’s hands. Russia’s Defense Ministry announced last week after 10 months of fighting The capture of the city in the eastern Donetsk region, its first major territorial gain since January when it took neighboring Soledar. Ukraine claims that its troops continue to guard a small area of Bakhmut and are advancing on its flanks, but has acknowledged that the eastern city is “effectively in Russian hands now”. for vladimir putin Russia, which invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022It was a much-needed victory after a series of setbacks late last year when Russian troops were beaten back by Ukrainians from Kharkiv Oblast in the northeast and the city of Kherson in the south. The Russians already control all of Luhansk and securing Bakhmut would allow them to target other major urban centers in Donetsk such as Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. For Ukraine, which has been preparing for a major counteroffensive, the loss of Bakhmut is a blow, but not the end of the road.
Russia, whose initial thrust into Ukraine failed to meet its objectives, appears to be learning from its battlefield mistakes as its offensive turns into a war of attrition. According to a recent report by the London-based Royal United Services Institute, Russia’s battlefield strategy, coordination, supply, electronic warfare and air defense have improved. At Bakhmut, the Russians suffered heavy losses, but the fighting was carried on by Wagner, a private military corporation, which provided regular Russian troops, consisting of 300,000 freshly mobilized soldiers, with fortifications along a front line of over 1,000 km. There was time to do and train. , Ukraine, on the other hand, was supposed to launch its counteroffensive in early spring, and the delay points to its battlefield problems, which were partly revealed by leaked US intelligence documents earlier this year. But Ukrainian troops now have some of the most advanced weapons, thanks to the West. In recent months, Ukraine has also launched attacks inside Russia, using drones and medium-range fire or saboteurs, bringing the war home for Mr Putin. Now, with advanced weapons, Ukraine is betting on its ability to strike back and create disruption inside Russia. To recover from its setbacks at Soledar and Bakhmut, Ukraine must quickly regain its territories, while Russia seeks to capitalize on the momentum built over Bakhmut. As both sides are determined to continue the war, there is no hope of peace or talks on the horizon.