Ukraine forces may pull out of Bakhmut, Zelensky adviser says as Russians advance
- Ukraine clinging to ruined eastern city of Bakhmut in the bloodiest battle of Moscow’s one-year invasion
- Ukrainian military analyst says Russians applying ’colossal pressure, with wave upon wave of attacks’
The Ukrainian military might pull troops back from the key stronghold of Bakhmut, an adviser to Ukraine’s president said in remarks that suggested Russia could capture the city that has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance.
Kremlin forces have waged a bloody, months-long offensive to take Bakhmut, a city of salt and gypsum mines in eastern Ukraine that has become a ghost town.
“Our military is obviously going to weigh all of the options. So far, they’ve held the city, but if need be, they will strategically pull back,” Alexander Rodnyansky, an economic adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, told CNN on Wednesday. “We’re not going to sacrifice all of our people just for nothing.”
The battle for Bakhmut has come to embody Ukraine’s determination as the city’s defenders hold out against relentless shelling and Russian troops suffer heavy casualties.
Bakhmut lies in Donetsk province, one of four provinces Russia illegally annexed last fall.
Moscow controls half of Donetsk province. To take the remaining half of that province, Russian forces must go through Bakhmut, the only approach to bigger Ukrainian-held cities since Ukrainian troops took back Izium in Kharkiv province in September.