NATO: Bakhmut City May Fall into Russian Hands in Days

Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday (8/3) predicted the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine would fall into Russian hands in just a matter of days. The prediction was given after months of fierce fighting haunted the city.

Additionally, Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, which had spearheaded the attack on Bakhmut, claims to have captured the industrial city’s eastern edge. The city has been torn apart in the longest fighting since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

The head of Wagner and Kremlin ally Yevgeny Prigozhin, quoted by AFP, said on social media on Wednesday (8/3) that his forces “have captured the entire eastern part of Bakhmut.” The town itself was known as a salt mine town and before the war had a population of around 80,000 people.

The fierce fighting around Bakhmut was the longest and bloodiest in the Russian invasion for over a year. The Kremlin’s onslaught destroyed large parts of Ukraine and displaced millions of people.

Ukrainian soldiers are seen hiding in a trench amid Russian attacks near Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Sunday, March 5, 2023. (Photo: AP)

“What we are seeing is that the Russians are deploying more soldiers, more troops and they are trying to make up for what they are lacking in quality by increasing the quantity,” Stoltenberg told reporters in Stockholm on the sidelines of a meeting of European Union defense ministers.

“We cannot rule out that Bakhmut will eventually fall in the coming days,” he said, but added that “this does not necessarily reflect a turning point in the war.”

Russian troops ‘could advance further’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned in an interview with CNN what could happen if Bakhmut fell into the hands of Russian troops.

“We understand that after Bakhmut, (Russian forces) can go further” and attack nearby towns in the Donetsk region, he said.

“They can go to Kramatorsk, they can go to Sloviansk, (the cities) will be an open road for the Russians after Bakhmut (to reach) to other cities in Ukraine, towards Donetsk,” Zelensky said in a broadcast interview. on Wednesday (8/3).

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told military officials on Tuesday that taking Bakhmut meant giving Moscow an opportunity to carry out “further offensive operations” in eastern Ukraine.

Prigozhin estimates between 12,000 and 20,000 Ukrainian troops are still defending the city.

Zelensky told CNN that his armed forces had decided to stay in Bakhmut.

Ukrainian Soldiers fire 105mm Howitzers at Russian positions, near the town of Bakhmut, on March 4, 2023. (Photo: AFP/Aris Messinis)

At least 5 Killed after Russian Missile Attack

Meanwhile Russia fired a massive barrage of missiles targeting energy infrastructure across Ukraine on Thursday (9/3) morning. Officials said the largest-scale attack in three weeks hit residential buildings and killed at least five people, as reported by the Associated Press.

Lviv governor Maksym Kozytskyi said four people on his territory were killed after the missile hit a residential area. Three buildings were engulfed in flames after the onslaught. Rescue workers were combing through the rubble for more victims, he said.

Meanwhile Governor Serhii Lysak said a fifth person was killed and two others injured in several attacks in the Dnipropetrovsk region targeting the city’s energy infrastructure and industrial facilities.

Air raid sirens blared throughout the night across Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv, where explosions occurred in two areas west of the city.

The city government said Kyiv was hit with exploding missiles and drones and many were intercepted. But the attack succeeded in hitting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. [ah/rs]