Deputy Defense Minister denies Russian disinformation about conflicts between Ukraine's leadership over Bakhmut

Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar reported this. 

“We are witnessing another enemy information attack on Bakhmut. The technology looks like this: a large amount of allegedly insider information is being launched about the alleged contradictions between the military and political leadership regarding decisions on Bakhmut. That is, the idea that the president, Zaluzhnyi and Syrskyi have different positions is not true,” says Maliar.

The deputy defense minister emphasized that Russia is inventing political overtones for Ukraine's military decisions, and is discrediting the commander of the Ukrainian army, Oleksandr Syrskyi, personally.

The enemy is trying to show that it is taking care of its combatants, while the Ukrainian command allegedly “does not count lives.”

“In fact, it's the opposite. This is evidenced by the ratio of casualties, which is several times higher, and the tactics of combat operations,” emphasized Maliar.

The purpose of spreading fake news is to sow a discussion in our society about whether it is worth defending Bakhmut, and to create doubt and distrust in Ukrainian military decisions and the people who make them.

“The Russian Federation does this by making false claims about the unimportance of this area. However, given the amount of information efforts and resources the aggressor country has invested in this, it is the country that considers this area to be strategic,” the deputy defense minister wrote, adding that Ukrainians should trust the decisions of the military.

• Earlier, Western media reported that Russia lost 20,000 to 30,000 troops trying to take Bakhmut.

• On March 1, the spokesman for the Eastern Group of Forces, Serhii Cherevatyi, said that the Ukrainian command had not decided to withdraw troops from Bakhmut, Donetsk region, but could do so to save the lives of its personnel.

• According to Bild, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi have different views on the battle for Bakhmut, Donetsk region. 

• Zelenskyy denied disagreements with Zaluzhnyi and said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief and the commander of the Land Forces, Syrskyi, were in favor of continuing the defense.

• ISW assessed Zelenskyy's order to continue holding Bakhmut.

• CNN's senior Western interlocutors have claimed that the number of the Wagner PMC militants in the Bakhmut area is currently decreasing compared to the involvement of regular Russian troops.

• The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported that Russia probably does not have enough resources to continue the offensive if it captures Bakhmut.

• On March 9, the Deputy Commander of the 3rd Detached Assault Brigade, Major Rodion Kudriashov, emphasized that Bakhmut is currently under the Ukrainian Armed Forces' control.