Zelenski: the situation in the besieged city of Bajmut is “increasingly difficult”
Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky has acknowledged that the situation in Bakhmut, the strategic location in the Donetsk region that has been besieged by the Russians for weeks, “is becoming increasingly difficult”.
In his regular evening address, Zelensky said he was “constantly in contact” with his military commanders in the area and that the Donetsk region in the east of the country deserved “special attention”. “The enemy is constantly destroying everything that can be used to protect our positions, to gain a foothold and secure defence,” Zelenski said.
In its latest report, the Institute for the Study of War says Russian forces are institutionalising in Bakhmut frontal assault practices previously used by the Wagner mercenary group.
These practices, according to the institute, are highly attrition-intensive and “while they may achieve tactical gains”, in theory they cannot “effectively counter conventional Ukrainian battalions”, making it “unlikely that Russian forces will make operationally significant gains quickly”.
Zelenski has again called for “modern” fighter jets to “protect the entire territory” of Ukraine, following the latest attacks by Russian troops on Monday that killed at least two people.
“We need the aviation component of air defence, modern fighter planes, to protect the entire territory of our country from Russian terror. Air defence is complete only when it is supported by modern aviation,” he said.
