(Kramatorsk) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Bakhmout on Tuesday, a city in the east of his country ravaged by intense fighting with Russian forces who have been trying to take it since the summer and currently the most hot from the forehead.
This surprise visit by Mr. Zelensky as close as possible to the clashes appears to be a challenge to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin who, at the same time, was giving decorations to soldiers in the Kremlin in particular.
The Ukrainian head of state “met soldiers, spoke with them” on the spot, said the press service of the presidency, without further details.
A video broadcast by Ukrainian state channel Freedom showed him taking a photo of himself alongside soldiers in a building and giving them medals.
“It seems to me that the heroes of Bakhmout should receive what everyone receives […] I would like to wish there was light, but the situation is so difficult that there is light and then there is no more,” he said, referring to the cuts in running after the Russian bombings.
Mr. Zelensky went several times near the front such as mid-November to Kherson, in the south, after the withdrawal of Russian troops, and to Sloviansk, at the beginning of December, a few tens of kilometers from the eastern front.
This visit to Bakhmout, however, appears to be the most risky of his trips, as the Russian forces are at the gates of this city.
STRINGER PHOTO, REUTERS
Bakhmout, December 18, 2022
“Eastern Fortress”
Troops from Moscow have been trying since the summer to seize it, in particular with the help of mercenaries from the paramilitary group Wagner. Now partly destroyed by fighting, Bakhmout was once known for its vineyards and salt mines and had a population of around 70,000 before the Russian invasion unleashed in late February.
In recent months, this city has become the site of seemingly massive casualties on both sides through grueling trench warfare, heavy artillery duels and frontal assaults.
If the Russian soldiers claimed the conquest of villages and areas located at the very end of Bakhmout, the Ukrainian forces seem to control the city and part of its surroundings.
“Russian forces reportedly lost positions south of Bakhmout on December 18 and continued their ground attacks near Bakhmout and Donetsk,” the Institute for the Study of War analysis center, which has its headquarters in the United States.
“Bahmut is the eastern fortress of Ukraine,” said Deputy Defense Minister Ganna Maliar on Tuesday after visiting this city with Mr. Zelensky.
Vladimir Putin, for his part, appeared on television on Tuesday presenting decorations to Russian soldiers and political and economic figures, inside the walls of the Kremlin in Moscow.
The Russian president has not visited the front or the territories under Russian occupation in Ukraine since the start of the invasion. On the other hand, he appeared at the beginning of December at the wheel of a car on the Crimean bridge linking Russia to this peninsula annexed in 2014 or even in October on a training ground for mobilized soldiers.
PHOTO ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO, REUTERS
A hospital in Donetsk after a strike, December 20, 2022.
“Extremely difficult” situation
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu appeared in a video on Sunday showing him inspecting the deployment of Russian forces in southern Ukraine. The ministry did not specify the exact place and date of this visit.
After a series of Russian military setbacks in northeastern and southern Ukraine, most of the fighting is currently concentrated in the east of this country.
At the same time, Russia opted from October for massive bombardments on Ukrainian infrastructure, which regularly cause power and water cuts.
On Monday, an attack using drones mainly targeting Kyiv caused further interruptions in the electricity supply and therefore in heating, in the middle of winter.
Vladimir Putin admitted on Tuesday that the situation was “extremely difficult” in the four regions of southern and eastern Ukraine which Moscow claims to annex without having fully conquered them.
A high-ranking officer in the Ukrainian army, General Sergey Nayev, for his part claimed to see an “increase in the level of threat” of a potential Russian attack from neighboring Belarus, as was the case in the early days of the conflict.
Vladimir Putin traveled to Belarus on Monday for talks with his counterpart and ally Alexander Lukashenko, while the Russian army is currently taking part in “tactical” maneuvers there.
“The meeting between Putin and Lukashenko is a new political ‘dance’,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kouleba reacted on Tuesday, saying that “no essential decision was taken during this meeting”, while assuring that Ukraine was “ready” for any scenario.