Bakhmut: apocalypse and betrayal

Everyone, Ukrainians and Russians, is bleeding to death there. Volodimir Zelensky reported that over the past two weeks, more than a thousand enemy soldiers have been killed at this dramatic time in the war. But their own victims are also numerous. Everything is apocalyptic Bakhmutas it was then Mariupol -in the south of the country-, already in the hands of the invaders.

The battle for the city began to deepen during the Russian advance on Donetsk, last July. Since then, the two armies have been bogged down in a fight where any advance is repelled and the blood on the ground mixes with snow and mud. The occupants of Vladimir Poutine They fail to hold this city although it is practically surrounded on all sides.

But among Russians there is a belief that some black hand It is sabotage efforts to conquer this spooky city. Yevgeny Prigozhinthe oligarch close to Cheese fries who is master and lord of the mercenary Wagner Group, castigated his country’s military for months for lack of progress, poor planning and scarce resources. It was he who swore to take Bakhmut with their own fighters at all costs. He does this with trained soldiers, but especially with the convicts he has recruited from prisons over the years. Russia. However, he breaks his promise.

His notoriety aroused suspicion in Moscow. Prigozhin he presents himself as a political figure. You dream of being president. He himself has hinted that his aspirations lie in Ukraine. However, the Kremlin sniffed that he might want to be a candidate in 2024 specifically in Russia, where there are also elections. His emboldening, did he have the approval of Cheese fries? Mystery.

The truth is that the aura of invincibility that he had his band of mercenaries is doubted. But that palpable feeling would be fed from within Russia. An analysis of the infringement made by the thinking group North American Institute for the Study of War points out that the “Russia’s Defense Ministry may deliberately expend Wagner Group forces in Bakhmut in part to derail Prigozhin’s political aspirations”.

Alexei Mukhinrenowned Russian political scientist who frequently collaborates with state media and is close to the Kremlinmultiplied this version that the conventional forces of the Russian army do not help those hired by Prigozhin. Apparently, the Wagner group did not arouse sympathy on the front lines.

“Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Russian Chief of Staff General Valery Gerasimov are likely using the opportunity to deliberately deploy the Wagner Group’s elite and condemnatory forces in Bakhmut., in an effort to weaken Prigozhin and thwart his ambitions for greater influence in the Kremlin. The Russian Defense Ministry has increasingly restricted Prigozhin’s ability to recruit convicts and procure ammunition, forcing Prigozhin to publicly acknowledge his dependence on the Russian Defense Ministry,” notes the institute based in Russia. Washington.

This pressure – by dint of Russian lives – caused an unexpected genuflection until a few months ago. Prigozhin He said that in recent days the Ministry of Defense had supplied him with ammunition from Zaporizhia, the city of Donetsk and Avdiivka. And he clarified:There is no conflict between the fighters of Wagner and those of the Army”. He omitted to add:Sorry and thank you, General Shoigu”.

For his part, another thinking grouphe Polish Rochan Council -Specialised in Russia, Belarus there Ukraine– did not register any major changes in this smoky city: “In Bakhmut, heavy fighting took place in all directions. Apparently, the southern flank was under the most pressure on Monday, as the Russians managed to advance into the residential sector of this area.”.

“According to the Commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, General Oleksandr Syrsky, the situation around Bakhmut remains difficult. He didn’t add anything new: Wagner’s assault units were advancing from various directions, trying to break through the Ukrainian defensive lines towards the city center“, reported Rochan Council.

A Ukrainian counter-offensive is expected in the next few hours. To do this, the local forces managed to deploy new reinforcements which were placed along the border with belarus and in Chernihiva city also in northern Ukraine.

Bakhmut it is a symbol. The definitive conquest of this bastion by Russia could be a blow for Zelensky and a significant drop in the morale of the Ukrainian forces. This is where the Ukrainian president came on December 20 to pay homage to the dead and congratulate the soldiers who fought for the blue and yellow flag. Many lives end there.

However, if this symbol is finally retained by the Ukrainians, Russia he will have suffered a defeat of epic proportions, inexcusable for the Russian betrayal. And above all, the Wagner Group -the same person who, in the early days of the invasion, was looking for Zelensky murder him in Kyiv– will have been almost reduced to ashes… with the political aspirations of his boss, Prigozhin.

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