"Leaks" from the Pentagon again: Back off

"Leaks" from the Pentagon again: Back off

The US has reportedly warned Kyiv since January that Ukrainian forces will not be able to hold the key city in Donbass - Bakhmut, and has repeatedly called for a withdrawal, the Washington Post reported on Thursday, citing intelligence documents.

According to a top-secret assessment obtained by the newspaper, Washington suggested to Kyiv that it believed that Russia's steady advance in the region since November had threatened Ukraine's ability to maintain control of Bakhmut and that Ukrainian troops "were at risk of encirclement unless they withdrew next of the month".

However, it seems that these warnings were largely ignored, according to the American newspaper, as reported by Russia Today.

Kyiv reportedly believes that the city has not only strategic military value but is crucial to maintaining national morale and denying Russia the right to make any territorial gains.

The Battle of Bakhmut proved to be one of the most intense and bloody conflicts in Ukraine, with both sides reportedly suffering significant casualties.

A number of Western officials, including US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, have said the city has more symbolic than strategic importance for Kyiv. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed to defend it as long as possible after declaring the city a fortress.

Another series of leaked Pentagon documents, reported by Newsweek on Monday, clearly shows that the US does not believe that Bakhmut is vital to the overall conflict and will inevitably fall into Russian hands, dealing a "psychological blow" to Kyiv.

Washington reportedly encouraged Kiev to focus instead on the upcoming spring counter-offensive.

Meanwhile, Russia's Defense Ministry reported earlier this week that its forces, along with fighters from Army Group Wagner, blockaded Bakhmut from the north and south and also took control of several districts in the southwest, northwest, and central parts of the city.

According to the acting head of the Donetsk People's Republic of Russia, Denis Pushilin, all roads leading to Bakhmut are under the control of Russian artillery, while Russian troops control about 90 percent of the city and Ukrainian troops hold a small part of its western district.