CHASIV YAR, Ukraine (AP) 鈥� Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed Monday not to retreat from as Russian forces encroached on the devastated eastern city they have sought to capture for six months at the cost of thousands of lives.
Less than a week ago, an adviser to Zelenskyy said the defenders and fall back to nearby positions.
But Zelenskyy on Monday chaired a meeting in which top military brass 鈥渟poke in favor of continuing the defense operation and further strengthening our positions in Bakhmut." Later in his nightly video address, the president reported that his advisers unanimously agreed to press on with the fight, 鈥渘ot to retreat" and to bolster Ukrainian defenses.
His top adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, told The Associated Press that Ukrainian forces around Bakhmut have been grinding down enemy forces, reinforcing their positions and training tens of thousands of Ukrainian military personnel for a possible counteroffensive.
Intense Russian shelling targeted the city in the Donetsk region and nearby villages as Moscow waged a three-sided assault to try to finish off Bakhmut鈥檚 resistance.
The nearby towns of Chasiv Yar and Kostiantynivka came under heavy shelling, damaging cars and homes and sparking a fire. No casualties were immediately reported.
Police and volunteers evacuated people from Chasiv Yar and other front-line towns in an operation made difficult by the loss of bridges and constant artillery fire that has left barely a house standing.
Russian forces have been unable to deliver a knockout blow that would allow them to seize Bakhmut. Analysts say the city does not hold major strategic value and that its capture would be unlikely to serve as a turning point in the conflict.
The Russian push for Bakhmut reflects the Kremlin's broader struggle to achieve battlefield momentum. Moscow's on Feb. 24, 2022, soon stalled, and Ukraine launched a largely successful counteroffensive. Over the bitterly cold winter months, the fighting has largely been deadlocked.
The city's importance has become mostly symbolic. For Russian President Vladimir Putin, prevailing there would finally deliver some good news from the front. For Kyiv, the display of grit and defiance underscores the message that Ukraine is holding on after a year of brutal attacks, justifying continued support from its Western allies.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin endorsed that view Monday, saying during a visit to Jordan that Bakhmut has 鈥渕ore of a symbolic value than 鈥� strategic and operational value.鈥�
Moscow, he added, continues "to pour in a lot of ill-trained and ill-equipped troops鈥� into Bakhmut, while Ukraine patiently builds 鈥渃ombat power鈥� elsewhere with Western military support ahead of a possible spring offensive.
Even so, some analysts question the wisdom of ordering Ukrainian defenders to hold out much longer. Others suggest that a tactical withdrawal may already be underway.
Michael Kofman, the director of Russia studies at the CAN think tank in Arlington, Virginia, said Ukraine鈥檚 defense of Bakhmut has been effective because it has drained the Russian war effort, but that Kyiv should now look ahead.
"The tenacious defense of Bakhmut achieved a great deal, expending Russian manpower and ammunition,鈥� Kofman tweeted late Sunday. 鈥淏ut strategies can reach points of diminishing returns, and given Ukraine is trying to husband resources for an offensive, it could impede the success of a more important operation.鈥�
The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said Kyiv's smartest option now may be to withdraw to positions that are easier to defend.
"Ukrainian forces are unlikely to withdraw from Bakhmut all at once and may pursue a gradual fighting withdrawal to exhaust Russian forces through continued urban warfare,鈥� the ISW said in an assessment published late Sunday.
The Bakhmut battle has exposed Russian military shortcomings and bitter divisions.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the millionaire owner of the Wagner Group military company that has spearheaded the Bakhmut offensive, has been at loggerheads with the Russian Defense Ministry and repeatedly accused it of failing to provide his forces with ammunition.
On Monday, Prigozhin warned in a Russian social media post that the situation in Bakhmut 鈥渨ill turn out to be a 鈥榩ie鈥�: The filling is the parts of the Armed Forces of Ukraine surrounded by us (in the case, of course, if there is a complete encirclement of Bakhmut), and the shell is, in fact, the Wagner鈥� Group.
Bakhmut has taken on almost mythic importance. It has become like Mariupol 鈥� the port city in the same province that Russia captured last year after an 82-day siege that eventually came down to a mammoth steel mill where determined Ukrainian fighters held out along with civilians.
Moscow looked to cement its rule in Mariupol. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu toured some of the city鈥檚 rebuilt infrastructure 鈥� a newly built hospital, a rescue center and residential buildings 鈥� the Defense Ministry said.
In other developments Monday:
鈥� Russian forces attacked central and eastern regions of Ukraine with Iranian-made Shahed drones, said a spokesman for Ukraine鈥檚 Air Forces, Yurii Ihnat. Of 15 drones Russia launched, 13 were shot down, Ihnat said. It wasn鈥檛 immediately clear if the attack caused damage.
鈥� Russian defenders shot down three missiles over Russia鈥檚 Belgorod region on the border with Ukraine, its governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said on Telegram. Debris injured one person and damaged power lines and fa莽ades of residential buildings, according to the official. Gladkov did not specify whether the missiles were fired from Ukraine.
鈥� Ukraine's chief prosecutor announced a criminal investigation into what appeared to be Russian troops' execution of an unarmed Ukrainian prisoner of war. A video circulating on social media showed a uniformed Ukrainian soldier standing and smoking. The soldier recites Ukraine's battle cry, 鈥淕lory to Ukraine!鈥� then a volley of gunshots hits him, and he falls into a shallow hole dug into the ground. The AP could not verify the video's authenticity.
Outrage over the video quickly sparked a flurry of social media posts, including by Zelenskyy, of 鈥淕lory to Ukraine!鈥� In his nightly video address, Zelenskyy said: 鈥淚 want us all together, in unity, to respond to his words: 鈥淕lory to the hero! Glory to heroes! Glory to Ukraine!鈥� And we will find the killers."
鈥� Russia鈥檚 Federal Security Service, or FSB, reported thwarting an attempt to assassinate nationalist businessman Konstantin Malofeyev that was allegedly plotted by Ukrainian security services and the Russian Volunteer Corps that claims to be part of Ukraine鈥檚 armed forces. According to the FSB, the Russian Volunteer Corps leader Denis Kapustin was the mastermind behind the plan, which was to put a bomb under Malofeyev鈥檚 car.
Malofeyev is a media baron and owner of the ultra-conservative Tsargrad TV who has supported Russia-backed separatists in Ukraine and has trumpeted Moscow鈥檚 invasion as a 鈥渉oly war.鈥� He has been sanctioned by the U.S. and last year was charged with trying to evade sanctions.
The Russian Volunteer Corps last week claimed responsibility for an attack on Russian villages on the border with Ukraine. The FSB said Monday that Kapustin organized and spearheaded the raid, which killed two civilians and wounded two others. The FSB鈥檚 allegations could not be independently verified. Ukrainian officials have not commented.
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Mstyslav Chernov, The Associated Press
