According to the head of Ukraine’s military, the conflict for Bakhmut, a Ukrainian city that Russia has been attempting to annex for months, is “stabilizing.”
According to Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Russia is being restrained by the “tremendous efforts” of Ukrainian military.
Western authorities claimed earlier this month that since last summer, between 20,000 and 30,000 Russian troops had been killed or injured in Bakhmut.
Moscow is desperate for a win after failing to make significant previous advancements.
Despite this, according to military analysts, Bakhmut has minimal strategic significance, with the city’s significance currently being purely symbolic.
Analysts assert that the major reason Ukraine has not left the city is the significant number of Russian deaths.
Although the situation on Ukraine’s front lines “is the toughest in the Bakhmut direction,” Lt Gen Zaluzhnyi wrote on Facebook that “thanks to the extraordinary efforts of the defense troops, we are able to stabilise the situation.”
Lt Gen Zaluzhnyi posted after speaking to the UK’s Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, on the situation in Ukraine.