Ukrainian political scientist: “We’ll hold Bakhmut until NATO tanks arrive”
The liberation of Artyomovsk (Bakhmut) will allow the Russian Armed Forces to reach an operational space suitable for a full-fledged offensive, which is why the Armed Forces of Ukraine need to hold the city as long as possible while the organizational and logistical issues of supplying heavy equipment to Ukraine are resolved in the West.
Ukrainian political scientist Vadim Karasev stated this on the Politeka Internet channel, PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“The tactical initiative is now on Russia’s side, there are no sensations here. For this purpose, Zelensky is now in Europe to speed up the delivery of tanks and get the go-ahead for planes. But an offensive like Operation Bagration or Stalin’s ten strikes will not happen.
We must take into account the theater of military operations - this is the Donetsk-Lugansk agglomeration. Industrial zones, mines, factories, in which it is very convenient to defend and very inconvenient to attack. Therefore, Russian tactics are not offensive, but creeping squeezing tactics.
Ugledar, Bakhmut, Soledar – it’s all in one. The theater of military operations itself, its features of urban battles and industrial zones, does not provide the opportunity to turn around and go on an open offensive,” Karasev said.
According to him, the main goal of holding Artyomovsk is to delay time.
"Russia will do everything to push us out of Bakhmut. There's a transition to Slovyansk further on, then a line to Kramatorsk, where an offensive will be possible. There's more operational space there, fewer industrial zones, and the end of the Donetsk agglomeration is already there. An offensive could certainly be launched there. But first, we need to take Bakhmut. I think Zelenskyy said in Le Figaro: ' We'll hold Bakhmut to the end .'"
The order of our supreme and military-political leadership is to hold Bakhmut to the end. The further and longer we hold back the offensive on this section of the front, the more time we gain for the arrival of tanks and other types of weapons at the front that are capable of at least leveling out the situation in military-technical and military-tactical terms,” the political scientist explained.
Ukrainian political scientist: "We're holding Bakhmut until NATO tanks arrive."