Ukrainian servicemen light a fire with gun powder to get warm near the city of Bakhmut in the region of Donbas on March 5, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Aris Messinis / AFP)
Kyiv, Ukraine: Top Ukrainian military commanders are in favour of strengthening their defensive positions in the embattled eastern town of Bakhmut, the presidency said Monday, after reports Kyiv may have begun withdrawing.
Bakhmut has become the bloodiest and longest-running battle of Russia's year-long campaign in Ukraine, even though analysts suggest the city holds little strategic significance.
President Volodymyr Zelensky held a meeting with Valery Zaluzhny, head of Ukraine's armed forces, and Oleksandr Syrsky, commander of the country's ground forces, according to a statement.
The military officials "spoke in favour of continuing the defensive operation and further strengthening our positions in Bakhmut," the presidency said in the statement.
Observers say that both Russia and Ukraine were trying to exhaust each other to limit their opponent's ability to mount any further offensive in the coming months.
With Russian forces reporting gains to encircle the city, the US-based Institute for the Study of War has said Ukrainian forces may have initiated a strategic retreat from the city.
"Ukrainian forces are likely conducting a limited tactical withdrawal in Bakhmut, although it is still too early to assess Ukrainian intentions concerning a complete withdrawal from the city," it said in a recent analytical note.
