UNCOORDINATED MEDIA BATTLE FOR BAKHMUT

Despite the critical situation of Ukrainian troops in the area of Bakhmut, Zelensky demanded the country’s military to hold the city, the loss of which would entail significant reputational losses for Kiev and its Western patrons. Following a meeting of the Ukrainian Supreme Commander-in-chief’s staff at its headquarters on March 6, the Ukrainian military command refused to withdraw its units from Bakhmut. The statement was made shortly after reports regarding disagreements between President Zelensky and Supreme Commander-in-Chief Zaluzhny emerged, including in the Western media. Indeed, Zaluzhny has repeatedly claimed the need to withdraw the Ukrainian grouping in order to preserve the combat capability of the units. Apparently, the great media commander Zelensky managed to convince the country’s military chief to fight to the last Ukrainian in the besieged city. Not so long ago, Zelensky himself tried to solace public grief of the imminent loss of Bakhmut. He stressed that the Ukrainian military would not defend the city “at any cost.” However, the reputational defeat from the loss of Bakhmut for the Kiev regime and their patrons in Washington turned out to be too high. Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin has recently acknowledged that the defense of Bakhmut has a more symbolic significance than a strategic one. The brave PR move of Kiev failed. Declaring the continuation of the “heroic defense of the fortress city,” Zelensky’s office attempted to justify the many thousands of losses that the Ukrainian army has already suffered in Bakhmut; but Western partners revealed that thousands of Ukrainian soldiers remain in the besieged city to fight for Zelensky’s reputation. On March 6, an adviser to the acting head of the DPR said that about 10 thousand Ukrainian servicemen remain in Bakhmut. From a military point of view, the continuation of the defense of Bakhmut is justified by an attempt to inflict maximum damage to the most effective Russian infantry units, the Wagner PMC. However, the more the pincers around the city tighten, the less room for maneuver Ukrainian forces have and the less chance they have of destroying superior enemy forces. Despite an official statement on the decision to continue the defense, the Ukrainian command reportedly began a partial withdrawal of the garrison, evacuating the most combat-ready units from the city. Meanwhile, Ukrainian sources claim that Wagner’s fighters have taken control of the Zabakhmutka district in the west of the city. In the northeast, Russian assault troops completed the mop up operation in the meat processing plant area and reportedly reached the local autodrome. On the southern outskirts of the city, Wagner fighters are moving north along Independence Street.