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The fighting in Bachmut continues to rage and Ukraine looks set to find it increasingly difficult to hold out. At the same time, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has made a rare visit to the front.
Russia is determined to capture the ruined city of Bakhmut as part of the larger goal of subduing all of Donetsk. Ukraine has vowed to defend “Fort Bakhmut” as long as possible, but this week Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that the situation is difficult.
Wagner commander Yevgeny Prigozhin claims that his forces have basically surrounded the city and that only one road remains to gain control.
But according to the city’s mayor, Russia does not yet have control over the eastern parts of the city and fighting is still raging in the streets, the BBC reports.
Controlled retreat
The American think tank Institute for the study of war (ISW) assesses that the Ukrainian forces are preparing a controlled retreat.
Both sides have suffered heavy losses in the battles for the city, whose symbolic value, according to analysts, far exceeds its military strategic value.
At the same time, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has inspected a post on the front in southern Donetsk, the Ministry of Defense in Moscow says. It is unclear exactly where and when Shojgu carried out the inspection, but in videos from the ministry he is seen in a helicopter and talking to a soldier in front of demolished buildings.
Since the invasion just over a year ago, Russia’s top military politicians have only visited the front a handful of times.
New support package
In Washington, US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz showed a united front on Friday.
Moscow has warned that continued military aid to Ukraine will only prolong the conflict and the suffering of the Ukrainian people, and that arms deliveries strain donor countries’ economies and affect the well-being of citizens.
In response, Washington presented a new support package of 400 million dollars, corresponding to around 4.2 billion kroner.
Scholz promised continued German support for Ukraine.
– We will continue to support Ukraine as long as it (the war) lasts and as long as it is needed, he said.