The Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Jens Stoltenberg, warned today, Wednesday, that the strategic city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine may fall within days to Russian forces, after the Russian Wagner Group announced that it had taken control of the entire eastern part of it, while Kiev requested quantities Massive ammunition in preparation for a major counterattack expected in the spring.
Stoltenberg said in remarks on the sidelines of European Union defense ministers in the Swedish capital, Stockholm, that the fall of Bakhmut, which is located in the north of Donetsk province in the Donbass region, will not be a turning point in the war in Ukraine, but he made it clear that the importance of what the Russian forces are achieving on the ground cannot be underestimated. .
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned of the fall of Bakhmut, and said that the Russians could go beyond Bakhmut, and reach large cities in Donetsk such as Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.
Zelensky added, in an interview with CNN, that Russia needs a victory, even if it means destroying Bakhmut completely and killing all its civilians.
After it was reported that Kiev might withdraw its forces from Bakhmut, the Ukrainian leadership announced that it had decided to continue defending the city.
Zelinsky said that defending the city is "a strategic issue for us," adding that his forces are determined to defend Bakhmut and prevent it from falling into the hands of the Russian army.
Although Bakhmut - which was inhabited before the war by 70,000 people, of whom only 4,000 are now left - does not have great strategic importance, according to military experts, it has become of symbolic and tactical importance after the Russian forces were unable to control it despite the passage of more than 7 months. of fierce battles.
Wagner control
In developments on the ground, the founder of the Russian military Wagner Group, Yevgeny Bergogin, announced today, Wednesday, that its forces had taken control of the eastern part of Bakhmut, after working for weeks to fold it.
Prigozhin said that all the areas located on the eastern bank of the Pakhmutska River - which bisects the city - are under their control, and added that with the fall of Bakhmut, wide operational horizons will be opened to the Russian forces, and that the world has not yet faced the Russian army equipped with the latest weapons and technologies, as he described it.
The Ukrainian military did not categorically deny the statements of Commander Wagner, but vowed to continue to defend Bakhmut.
The Ukrainian General Staff said today that the Russian forces continue to storm Bakhmut despite the heavy losses they incurred, noting that more than 100 attacks were repelled on various axes, especially in Bakhmut, Liman and Avdiivka, Donetsk.
In the context, the spokesman for the Eastern Group of Ukrainian Forces, Serhiy Chervati, said that the stability on the northern front in Bakhmut is represented by the failure of the Russian forces to develop their offensive actions, adding that Wagner's forces will continue as a major offensive force despite the heavy losses they suffered recently, as he put it.
Yesterday, the Ukrainian spokesman said that the main task of the Ukrainian forces in Bakhmut is to "undermine the enemy's combat capability and deplete their combat capabilities."
Yesterday, the American Institute for the Study of War published maps showing that Russia controls about 40% of the city of Bakhmut.
The institute said that the decision to defend Bakhmut forces the Russian army to get involved in a costly and bloody war.
The European ministerial meeting in Stockholm is expected to give the green light to send more ammunition to Ukraine (Reuters)
Ammunition support
On the other hand, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov announced today that his country urgently needs one million pieces of ammunition.
Reznikov said in remarks on the sidelines of the meeting of European Union defense ministers in Stockholm that the first demand from his European counterparts is to obtain ammunition and air defense systems.
The ministers are expected to give the go-ahead for more ammunition to be sent to Kiev, details of that, and financing methods for any potential joint purchase.
During the same meeting, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius confirmed that German Leopard tanks will arrive in Ukraine at the end of this month, and that Ukrainian soldiers have been trained to use them during the past weeks.
Pistorius added that Berlin would increase its support for Ukraine if China provided arms to Russia.
Slovak Defense Minister Goslav Nad said in an interview with Al-Jazeera that the Stockholm meeting is discussing a proposal for a joint purchase of ammunition to be presented to Kiev, noting that his country plays an important role in coordinating and supplying aid by virtue of its location next to Ukraine and its membership in NATO.
And according to what Luxembourg Defense Minister Francois Bausch said to Al Jazeera, the additional European military support to Kiev comes in preparation for a major attack that Ukrainian forces will launch this spring, benefiting from Western weapons and training.