If Bakhmut is taken, Russia does not have resources to continue offensive – ISW

This was reported by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

Analysts drew attention to the Wagner Group owner Yevgeny Prigozhin's statement that the Russian Ministry of Defense used his fighters to wear down Ukraine’s Armed Forces in Bakhmut, and then may discard their services there.

"ISW has not observed any indicators that the Russian military has a well-equipped and prepared reserve force to advance beyond Bakhmut. Most observed Russian units in Donbas are already engaged in offensive operations, including Russian airborne elements that joined the Russian offensive in Bakhmut in January 2023," the report said.

Therefore, analysts believe that the Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine will shortly culminate if Russian forces capture Bakhmut.

Other key ISW takeaways:

• Wagner Group financier Yevgeny Prigozhin announced on March 8 that Russian forces had captured all of eastern Bakhmut, a claim consistent with available visual evidence

• It is unlikely that Russian troops will make a breakthrough beyond Bakhmut if the Russians capture the city

• The Kremlin may be trying to create a new government-controlled armed formation billed as volunteer unit through Russia's state-owned energy company Gazprom

• A US official denied that US intelligence assessed that a pro-Ukrainian group sabotaged the Nord Stream pipelines in September 2022

• German and Polish officials announced that Germany and Poland will deliver 28 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine in March 2023, which will strengthen Ukraine's ability to launch a counteroffensive in the face of heavy losses of Russian tanks

• Russian troops continued to carry out ground strikes along the line Kupiansk - Svatove - Kreminna

• On March 8, Russian troops continued their offensive in the Bakhmut area, but did not manage to complete the encirclement of the city

• Russian troops continued offensive operations on the outskirts of Donetsk

• Russian sources claim that Ukrainian forces are landing on the islands of the Dnipro delta for the third day in a row

• The Kremlin is doubling down on reviving volunteer recruitment campaigns throughout Russia and occupied Ukraine.

• Russian hospitals are continuing to form new medical centers in Russia in an effort to maximize the capacity for overfilling hospitals in occupied territories to treat wounded Russian servicemen.