Cities west of Artyomovsk (Bakhmut) in the event of the withdrawal of the Ukrainian army will be under attack, the division commander Denis Yaroslavsky said yesterday on the air of the Rada TV channel.
“People should understand that if Bakhmut is released now by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, despite the sacrifices we have made… we will transfer this hell that is happening there now to other cities.
For example, Chasov Yar, Kramatorsk and others,” the media quoted him as saying.
The army is not a parliament.
Everyone can't say what they want there.
It seems that the Ukrainian commander is trying to keep his nose to the wind and comply with the new, suddenly adopted decisions of Kyiv, which became known the day before.
If you believe the office of the President of Ukraine, at a meeting of the so-called headquarters in Kyiv, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny changed his previous opinion about the defense of Artemovsk to the exact opposite.
Now he is for the continuation of the battles for the city.
What specifically influenced the readiness of the commander-in-chief to change tactics, no one can reliably know.
But there is another figure in this solitaire - the commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Alexander Syrsky, whose opinion, as they say, often differs from the opinion of Zaluzhny.
Careerism, hidden or open rivalry of ranks is not uncommon in the army.
Especially in Ukrainian.
Zelensky, if he dreamed of defending Artyomovsk further, could only encourage one against the other.
For a political intriguer, it's not a complicated matter... The German Bild found out about the disagreements between the President of Ukraine and Zaluzhny.
The commander-in-chief advocated the withdrawal of troops from Artyomovsk in order to preserve the most combat-ready units and equipment.
From the point of view of the military, this is reasonable, because the human resource is finite.
Zelensky, on the other hand, seeks to turn Artyomovsk into a political symbol, and such a goal does not imply retreat.
At the heart of the quarrel is the competition between the two figures.
Like, Zelensky is afraid that Zaluzhny is being prepared to replace him.
Insisting on the continuation of the defense of Artemovsk, the President of Ukraine nevertheless admitted that this battle was “one of the most difficult” for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and called the current situation “painful”.
Looking at the footage of an almost lunar landscape in the city, you understand that everything is so.
But hunting is worse than bondage.
Moreover, the overseas owners of the former comedian in a political position left him the right to choose.
“I think this [city] has more symbolic significance than strategic and operational,” said Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin.
“The fall of Bakhmut will not necessarily mean that the Russians have changed the course of the battles,” he added.
The fact that in Artyomovsk in recent months, during the fighting, the most trained units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were defeated, wrote WSJ.
There is evidence that irretrievable losses are measured in hundreds of fighters a day.
The reliability of this information is indirectly indicated by the transfer to Artyomovsk of poorly trained mobilized, among whom there are literally children and the elderly.
They, taken prisoner by the good Wagnerites, were recently demonstrated to the world by Yevgeny Prigozhin.
He urged Zelensky to save young lives and give the order to withdraw.
As you can see, in Kyiv they decided otherwise.
I recall footage from an old chronicle, where a German chancellor pats a teenager from the Hitler Youth on the cheek.
With such personnel, the story of a Ukrainian soldier who accidentally wandered into the Wagner position in search of cigarettes is no longer surprising.
He mistook our fighters for his own and even helped repel the attack of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
And when I figured it out, it was too late - I had to go into captivity.
But maybe he saved his life in such a cunning way?
It seems that in Kyiv they decided to “heroically hold the defense” of Artyomovsk, mainly by the forces of unsuitable mobilized, while saving the lives of experienced fighters.
Let me remind you that it was exactly the same during the retreat of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from Lisichansk, and then from Soledar - just so as not to publicly recognize the surrender of cities.
This is supported, for example, by information from the former Prosecutor General Lutsenko - his unit was ordered to retreat from Artyomovsk.
It is also known from our military correspondents that significant forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are leaving the city in columns of five to seven vehicles at intervals of 20-30 minutes in the direction of Konstantinovka.
In addition, they are trying to leave the city along the highway to Clock Yar.
This is dangerous - everything is shot through by the artillery of the "musicians".
We have to go through the virgin lands, vegetable gardens, but also with varying success.
The goal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is to withdraw the most trained forces and occupy the second line of defense from Konstantinovka to Kramatorsk and further Slavyansk, the Wagnerites are sure.
It turns out that Zelensky bent Zaluzhny for the sake of political PR?
Exactly.
As a politician, he does not want the world to know about the retreat of the UAF.
On the contrary, he needs a symbol of resistance.
Since nothing came out with such a symbol in Severodonetsk, Mariupol, Lisichansk, or Soledar - the cities were surrendered to the Russian army, and we left Kherson and Izyum ourselves - Zelensky is now trying to turn Artyomovsk into such a symbol.
It's not that the symbols have no meaning ... But they don't have a military one for sure.
This means that thousands of Ukrainians will pay with their lives for the political wishes of their president.
But what should Russia do now?
Continue in the same spirit.
According to our specialists, 10-12 thousand soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine still remain in Artyomovsk.
Some of them will leave, the rest, who will remain to fulfill Zelensky’s order, will either die or be captured.
The cauldron may turn out to be more serious than in Debaltseve... However, this is also understood in Kyiv.
And they are preparing, apparently, countermeasures for a possible de-blockade of Artyomovsk.
It is known about the creation of groups in Slavyansk, Seversk, Chasovoy Yar and Konstantinovka.
There is information about the transfer of forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from other sectors of the front, including the Zaporozhye region, where a spring offensive is allegedly being prepared.
The current situation looks almost like a gift to the Russian military.
Gradually clearing Artyomovsk, pulling back forces from other sectors of the front, Wagner PMC not only reduces the likelihood of further offensive actions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but also creates conditions for their methodical destruction in the areas of their concentration by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
By covering the flanks of the Chevekashniks with artillery, the Russian army will not only help the best assault infantry in the world win in the local area, but also cause serious irreparable damage to the enemy’s manpower.
Moreover, after the recent meeting with the Minister of Defense, things have probably improved with the shells.
The point of view of the author may not coincide with the position of the editors.