Bakhmut may be a rerun of Debaltseve - Ukrainian commander Yaroslavskyi

Denys Yaroslavskyi, commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said this on Espreso.

“Now in Bakhmut, there are battles on the streets. There are small arms battles for every alley. In a week and a half, the enemy managed to advance from Yahidne to 1.5 kilometers deep into Bakhmut. It is difficult to hold every house and private sector. There is a particular danger in the fact that the neck of the so-called operational cauldron is just over 4 km,” he noted.

Yaroslavskyi added that all the ways to secure Bakhmut are being shot at.

“Without logistics, there is nothing - no rotation, no supply of ammunition. The enemy understands this and is trying to cut off the logistics first. We realize that there may be a repeat of Debaltseve. The situation is the same, when the roads are cut off and a targeted withdrawal of troops can jeopardize the entire convoy. It is very dangerous to cross this 4 km passage. Our difference from the Russians is that when we encircled some places during the counteroffensive, the Russians would drop everything and run. We are standing - this is our spirit,” the commander emphasized.

He said that every fighter is ready to stand.

“There is also the time when our corps, which are now in Europe, return from training. These are brigades that have been trained for 3-4 months and are returning with an understanding of the NATO school. We all expect this group to come to support us and we will be able to expand this operational encirclement. Also, Russians are burning Wagner PMCs near Bakhmut. This is a decision to bury them there,” Yaroslavskyi summarized.