US Defense chief claims Bakhmut has more symbolic than strategic value
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US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says he would not view a decision to reposition Ukrainian troops to the west of Bakhmut as a strategic setback for Kiev.
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US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin answers reporters' questions at the Pentagon, July 21, 2021 (REUTERS)
In an effort to undermine the progress that the Russian troops have achieved in Bakhmut, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin claimed on Monday that Russian troops controlling the city in the Donetsk Region would not represent a decisive shift in the Ukraine war.
"I think it is more of a symbolic value than it is strategic and operational value," Austin told reporters during a visit to Jordan.
Austin indicated that he would not view a Ukrainian decision to reposition troops to the west of the city as a strategic setback for Kiev.
The Defense Secretary's statements come shortly after the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu inspected troops in frontline regions after the United States offered more support to Kiev whose forces are struggling in Bakhmut.
The visit came with fierce fighting ongoing around Bakhmut, the longest battle of the conflict.
On Friday, Wagner Private Military Company chef Yevgeny Prigozhin said his fighters had "practically encircled" the city. He also directly called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to abandon Bakhmut.
On his part, Zelensky has pledged to defend "fortress Bakhmut" for as long as possible, calling on allies to intensify their support to help his troops do so.
Read more: Ukraine lost 210 troops in Donetsk over past 24 hours: MoD
Increasingly difficult situation around Bakhmut
Zelensky and several Ukrainian officials recognized an increasingly difficult situation around Bakhmut this week.
Sergiy Cherevaty, a spokesperson for Ukrainian forces, said the situation was "difficult but under control" in the city he described as a "priority target" for Russian forces.
On the other hand, the British Defense Ministry's intelligence update on Saturday indicated that Ukraine was "under increasingly severe pressure, with intense fighting taking place in and around" Bakhmout.
It added that "Ukrainian-held resupply routes out of the town are increasingly limited" and Wagner's troops and the Russian military had advanced in the northern suburbs of the city, which was now "vulnerable to Russian attacks on three sides."
The intelligence update also said that two key bridges in the town had been destroyed, including a vital bridge connecting the city to the last main supply route from Bakhmut to the city of Chasiv Yar.
Read more: Kiev may have used chemical weapons in Kharkov direction
