F-16s will finish flights of Russian Su-57s in Ukraine. Military expert Serhiy Zgurets

When Ukraine receives F-16s, the Russian army is unlikely to launch its Su-57s, because they are probably on the list of the Tsar's guns, the tank guns, and the Su-57s, of which the Russians have 10, one of which they have already lost. So I think that this aircraft is the last song of the Russian aviation industry and it will not change the situation on the battlefield, because there are not enough of them. Secondly, the emergence of even F-16s with good long-range missiles together with AVACS will make the last flights of these aircraft in Ukrainian sky.

Situation in and around Bakhmut

Currently, the aggressor's troops control most of Bakhmut, while the Armed Forces of Ukraine hold the western part of the city, including the neighborhoods with high-rise buildings close to Tchaikovsky Street. Heavy street fighting is ongoing, and the Russian enemy is using TOS - heavy flamethrower systems, aircraft and artillery. Supply routes to Bakhmut continue to work despite hostile shelling, and Ukrainian artillery has more ammunition compared to a week ago, as both Soviet caliber and NATO systems are being supplied to Ukrainian forces supporting infantry units.

There are also statements from Ukraine's generals about successful counterattacks in Bakhmut. The US, in particular, the White House National Security Council Coordinator John Kirby, said that Russia's attempt to launch a winter offensive in Donbas failed mainly because of Bakhmut. According to him, since December, Russia has lost more than 100 000 of its military, including more than 20,000 killed. Kirby said that almost half of those killed were mercenaries of the Wagner PMC, most of whom were Russian prisoners who were thrown into the battle near Bakhmut.

Separate Russian positions in Bakhmut, in particular the flanks, are vulnerable to Ukrainian counterattacks, and Ukrainian forces and means will be allocated for this, and perhaps that is why the criminal and financier of the Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, threatened to withdraw his troops from Bakhmut if the Russian military leadership did not provide them with more ammunition. Otherwise, Wagner's PMC fighters will have to retreat in an organized manner, or stay and die, which, in my opinion, is already happening. But even if the Russian troops manage to push Ukrainian troops out of Bakhmut despite the enormous losses, the battle will continue, and new defensive positions have already been set up outside the city on the dominant heights. I have seen reports from soldiers of the 46th separate airmobile brigade that "right outside Bakhmut, new frontiers of Ukrainian defense await us and the war will move from urban conditions to the field." But I think I would not hurry with these predictions, because Bakhmut has been holding for 10 months.

Yehor Firsov, an AFU soldier and tactical medic, told me in a conversation that his unit is on the frontline in the Bakhmut district, but he frankly added that compared to what is happening in the city, his frontline is a "resort" for him. He noted that there is fighting and artillery fire in his area, and that they are trying to "pour more" on the enemy positions because they see that they are "digging." What's happening in Bakhmut is a real battle for every meter, including, of course, for the premises. Firsov added that there are battles when Ukrainian soldiers are sitting in one entrance and the enemy is sitting in another. Yehor believes that the character of the fighting there is different - it is mostly urban combat, and there are a lot of contusions because any "hit" immediately causes contusion. This happens because the Russian forces are using, for example, 2S7 Pion caliber.

Regarding the likelihood of the Russian army's attempts to displace Ukrainian positions by May 9, Yehor added that he has been in the army for several years and therefore no longer pays attention to this.

According to him, the military sees that this entire racist state has set itself the goal of taking Bakhmut, and this is more of a political issue. But despite their super efforts, the positions in part of the city are being held.

Issues of tactical medicine in hotspots

Yehor said that tactical medics in Bakhmut have equipped mini-hospitals and mini-resuscitation centers. They help not to waste time and not to take a soldier to another rear city (Pokrovsk or Kostiantynivka). From the point of view of military medicine and tactical medicine, Firsov says, all these examples will be included in the corresponding textbooks. Thanks to such efforts, hundreds of soldiers' lives were saved in the Bakhmut sector.

Regarding the Ukrainian military's partial disregard for wearing body armor and the number of injuries caused by shrapnel from artillery shells, Yehor noted that, first of all, if an infantryman is injured by a piece of shrapnel, he must help himself. After all, it takes a few minutes to lose consciousness, lose blood and die.

On the other hand, he added that the military and infantry believe that fire, the more massive it is, the greater the artillery cover is, the less likely they are to be injured, because the enemy is not attacking, but defending and suffering losses, and thus they can do their military work, roughly speaking, even without body armor.