Russia Ukraine war, page-117093

Ukrainians being pummeled on three sides but Russia is losing 7 soldiers to every Ukrainian...

Ukrainian forces still trying to hold Bakhmut despite heavy casualties | Ukraine | The Guardian

"Ukrainian soldiers are being pummelled on three sides by Russian forces who are trying to capture Bakhmut, a city in the eastern Donetsk region that has become the focus of the longest and one of the bloodiest battles since the war began.

Ukraine’s authorities insist they will continue to try to hold the city despite them suffering an estimated 100-200 casualties a day – with some saying the reason is more political and symbolic than practical. Retreating from the city now, after so many soldiers died fighting to keep it, would be a hard reality to face.

The Russian push for Bakhmut started in July and intensified in the autumn after Moscow mobilised thousands of men, many of whom were Russian prisoners who signed up with the promise of freedom after six months of service.

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, told CNN in an interview that retreating from Bakhmut would “open the road” for Russian forces to attack the neighbouring Ukrainian-controlled towns of Kostiantynivka and Kramatorsk.

“I hope we don’t have to leave, but we will if [the frontline] comes to us,” said Dmytro Yakovensko, a doctor working in the children’s hospital in Kramatorsk. Kramatorsk has been relatively quiet in recent weeks, as Russian forces have concentrated their firepower on Bakhmut.

But soldiers on the ground and western analysts feel differently, with Ukraine’s heavy death toll being suggested as one of the reasons Ukraine’s leadership has been unwilling to give up – and also the reason it should.

“In my opinion, it’s political,” said Andriy, a deputy commander in Donetsk region whose battalion is fighting in the Bakhmut area. Andriy, in his US-made camouflage coat, was standing next to a set of Soviet-era armoured vehicles that were being fixed. “The positions are ready [for them] to retreat to. The reason they are still there is more of a political thing.”

Ukraine’s national security chief, Oleksiy Danilov, has said that one Ukrainian is killed for every seven Russians, and claimed that Ukrainian soldiers are killing as many as 1,100 Russians a day. It is impossible to verify Danilov’s figure. Nevertheless, all things point to Ukrainian losses being high, at about 100-200 a day.

“The issue is that the [Russians] have so many people,” said Volodymyr, a field commander fighting in the Bakhmut area. He had arrived to see Andriy and consult on the progress of the renovation of the tanks. “You send a drone over and you see they have five in one place and so you target them, then another 20 appear.”