Military expert Oleg Zhdanov said that the situation with the defense of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, which the Ukrainian military has been heroically holding for half a year, is difficult, but more or less stable. He stressed that there are a number of factors that contributed to the Defense Forces in the fight for the fortress city.
In an interview with TSN, Zhdanov noted that even the terrain in the Bakhmut area helps the Ukrainian military defend the city and causes difficulties for the Russian invaders. In addition, Bakhmut is larger than Soledar, on which the invaders are now focusing their efforts.
At the same time, the expert added that even the capture of Soledar by the invaders would only create a threat of attempts to encircle Bakhmut, but not the city's encirclement.
"They can make a ledge in our defenses, moving in the direction of Sloviansk. But we have a line of defense built on the Donetsk Canal. The equipment will definitely not pass through the canal, and you won't particularly attack on the water on foot. If they can take Soledar, from Bakhmut, we can deliver flank attacks, surrounding the Russian grouping in Soledar," Zhdanov said.
According to him, the possible loss of Soledar does not give clear advantages to the Russian army. Holding the city will mean maintaining the front line and destroying the political plans of Prigozhin and Kadyrov, who have recently gone to the bottom, realizing that in the event of a failure in Soledar, all "merits" to Putin could collapse at once.
At the same time, due to the concentration of efforts of the invaders on Soledar, the onslaught of Russian troops in the Bakhmut region decreased.
"Part of the artillery moved away near Soledar, and the number of raids decreased. There (near Bakhmut) The situation is difficult, but more or less stable," Zhdanov said.
