"Bakhmut's story is not over": Russians will soon lose occupied territories - wp

It is reported that the forces of Ukraine are still defending the southwestern outskirts of Bakhmut. However, Russian propagandists have already begun to celebrate victory. Analysts also believe that Bakhmut can potentially understand the fate of Izium, Lyman, Kherson and other cities that were able to deny the Armed Forces in 2022. "Bakhmut's history is not over.

Many Ukrainian forces are still on the outskirts, and Russia's position in Ukraine is not particularly stable now," said Dara Massicot, Senior Researcher at Rand Corp. Massicot noted that the next two to three weeks will be crucial for the claims of the Russians on Bakhmut, since the Russian Federation allocates forces to defense against the expected Ukrainian counter-offensive.

"The Russians do not know exactly where the counter -offensive will begin, and judging by where most of their forces are, they are especially concerned about the Zaporozhye direction and the cutting of the land corridor (to Crimea, ed. )," Massicot said. US special services believe that since the end of 2022, about 10,000 Wagner PVC fighters have been killed in the Bakhmut direction. Most of them were imprisoned. Russian military analyst Jan Matveev said that "Wagnerivtsi" can leave the city.

However, it is unknown when, because they need to find a replacement. It is reported that the Russian regular units closest to Bakhmut are probably unable to play the same role as previously performed by Wagner PECs. According to journalists, another option for Moscow may be its airborne troops, which have shown themselves better in hostilities, but using them to protect Bakhmut can lead to the loss of experienced military.

It should be reminded that the representative of the eastern group of the Armed Forces of the Armed Forces Colonel Sergey Cherevaty stated that in Bakhmut in the area of ​​"aircraft" Ukrainian defenders hold the bridgehead to prevent the full capture of the city by Russian invaders. He confirmed that the defense forces were moving on the flanks in the Bakhmut direction. In addition, the NSDC Secretary Alexei Danilov stated that part of Bakhmut is still under the control of the Armed Forces.