Pashmut is “complete hell”, but the Ukrainian military denies the withdrawal

Austin responded to reports from the front that the Battle of Pashmut was nearing its climax and that the Ukrainian army might be preparing to surrender the city. According to the commander of the Ukrainian army who visited Pashmut, General Oleksandr Sersky, the city has never seen more fighting than now.

If the Ukrainian army withdraws from the city to areas west of Pashmut in the coming days or weeks, the United States says it will not be a strategic setback in the war. According to Austin, from their new positions, the Ukrainians could easily stop the further advance of the Russian army deep into the Donetsk region.

symbolic value

Russia, which has been trying to conquer Bashmut for months at the cost of heavy losses, hopes to put pressure on the cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk after capturing it. The Russians now control only half of Donetsk. “The value of the bashmouth is more symbolic than strategic,” Austin said. “The fall of Bashmut does not necessarily mean that the Russians will have changed the course of this battle.”

Zelensky’s office tried to quell rumors after the military summit that the army was preparing to abandon Bashmut. According to his aides, the generals spoke in favor of “continuing the defense of the city and strengthening the positions at Bashmut.”

Zelensky said earlier that the Ukrainians “will fight as long as we can.” It was the last time the army withdrew from a city after a months-long Russian siege in the summer of Severodonetsk and later Lysichansk. Then the entire Luhansk region fell into the hands of the Russians.

“full hell”

According to the American Research Institute for the Study of War, which is closely following the war, there are no indications yet that a full-scale withdrawal of the Ukrainian army from Pashmut is imminent. On Monday, the institute noted that the army is engaged in a tactical withdrawal from the eastern parts of the city. Wagner’s private Russian army, which is fighting a large part of the battle, claims to have largely surrounded Bashmut. Ukrainian positions are now being bombarded so hard to block off the last escape routes until the encirclement of the city can be completed.

Ukrainian commander Volodymyr Nazarenko denied that a withdrawal was imminent in the coming days. He said the situation was very bad. “It’s complete hell,” Nazarenko said. In recent days, the Ukrainian military had to watch as the Russians destroyed two important bridges. One of these bridgeheads was crucial to the supply of Ukrainian units from the town of Chasiv Yar, located about ten miles west of Pashmut.