On March 3, the head of the Wagner PMC claimed that the city of Bakhmut was almost surrounded. He addressed Ukrainian President Zelensky, calling him to allow the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the city.
After numerous units of the Ukrainian army were destroyed in the heavy battles, the Ukrainian garrison in Bakhmut was reinforced by untrained mobilized servicemen, including the elderly and children. In his video, Prigozhin showed Ukrainian POWs calling on their president to let them leave the city and return home to their families. The video also confirms that an old Ukrainian man and two teenagers captured by Wagner fighters were treated well in the captivity.
“I appeal to the President of Ukraine Vladimir Aleksandrovich Zelensky. <…> If earlier the professional Ukrainian army used to fight with us, today we see more and more old people and children. They fight, but their life in Bakhmut is short, a day or two. Give them the opportunity to leave the city, the city is actually surrounded,” said the founder of Wagner.
Ukrainian servicemen deployed in Bakhmut shared numerous videos from the city, confirming the deplorable state of the Ukrainian garrison. They call on their commanders not to sacrifice lives of thousands more soldiers in the city which defense is doomed. Their pledges are already shared by the Western media. For example, CNN recently published new interview with the Ukrainian servicemen, who admitted that the situation in Bakhmut in all directions is much worse than it is officially declared.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces began blowing up all the bridges in the city of Bakhmut in an attempt to slow down the Russian advance. However, the destruction of the bridges will also complicate any manoeuvres of the Ukrainian military, including its retreat.
In its turn, the Kiev regime continues sending more soldiers to the Baghmut grinder. On March 2, the Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine announced the decision to transfer additional units of the Armed Forces to Bakhmut.
Bakhmut is a strategically important transport hub for the supply of the entire Ukrainian grouping in the Donbass. The Russian control of the city would be a key step towards the liberation of the Donetsk People’s Republic.
