Russia’s claim to victory in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut suggests that the brutal urban strife that marked the deadliest blow of its war in Ukraine may well be over. But what comes next is far from clear.
As Moscow heralds a “Mission Accomplished” moment in its war, Ukraine – while insisting Bakhmut has not completely fallen – sees an opening to seize the initiative from the city’s outskirts if Russian troops no longer push forward. penetrate into the center of the city.
Russia’s capture of Bakhmut would be a powerful symbolic success for Moscow. It would be the first Ukrainian city it has taken since Lysychansk last summer, and be a setback for Kiev, which has expended precious ammunition and sent some of its most capable troops to try and defeat Russia’s devastating months-long assault on the city. to thwart. Thousands of troops from both sides are said to have died in nearly a year of intense fighting there.
But the city now lies in ruins, and control of the city would not necessarily help Moscow achieve its greater stated goal – capturing the entire eastern region of Donbas – now that Ukrainian forces have exhausted Russian forces and in some areas their defenses have broken through to the city. North and South.
Now that Russia has seemingly taken the city, it must hold it.
