Defending Bakhmut is crucial, but not at all costs – Zelenskyy

He stated this in an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

He commented on the question of whether it is worth losing people for the sake of protecting a small town in Donbas.

"Yes, this is not a particularly big city – like many other cities in Donbas destroyed by the Russians. It is important for us to defend it, but not at all costs, we don’t want all our soldiers dead. We will fight as long as it is reasonable, as long as the Russians continue their offensive on Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, toward the administrative borders of Donbas," Zelenskyy emphasized.

According to him, Ukrainian soldiers will resist and in the meantime will prepare a further counteroffensive.

Ukraine is preparing for a short war and a quick victory, the president noted.

"The sooner victory comes, the fewer victims we have. In 2014, the conflict was frozen, and it did not benefit us. The Minsk agreements gave Putin time to prepare for a sudden attack... but we will not fall into the same trap again," he assured.

Zelenskyy once again emphasized that Ukraine values its citizens, therefore "the sooner the war ends, the fewer victims we have."

"Our soldiers are more motivated because they are protecting their families, their homes. On the other hand, we see that economic sanctions against Moscow help very much, they give us time for self-organization," he added.

• Since February 13, civilians and the press can enter Bakhmut with special passes only. Less than five thousand residents remain in the city.

• British intelligence stated that the Russian leadership faced a choice between completely occupying Donbas and defending the land bridge to Crimea in Zaporizhzhia. The ISW emphasized that the defense of Bakhmut created the conditions for a future AFU counteroffensive.