AFU Fighter About Battles In Bakhmut: Russians Are In For Surprise

Reinforcements are coming to town.

The situation in the Bakhmut direction has been very difficult for more than six months, but the Ukrainian defenders are holding the line.

Ukrainian political scientist and volunteer of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Kyrylo Sazonov, who is currently fighting in the Bakhmut line, told the Charter97.org website what is happening in the hottest point of the front.

— It is worth talking not only about Bakhmut, but about the Donetsk direction as a whole. The situation is now very difficult in Bakhmut, Vuhledar, Avdiyivka, Maryinka. The invaders are very actively creeping there with all their might, but everywhere they are rebuffed by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The entire Donetsk line is now the place of the toughest battles. It is here that the main forces of the enemy and, accordingly, the Ukrainian defense forces are concentrated.

— Why did the occupiers cling to Bakhmut so much?

— By itself, Bakhmut is an interesting logistical point. If we talk about the strategic importance of Bakhmut, then from north to south — this is the Mariupol-Donetsk-Horlivka-Mayorsk-Bakhmut highway, and it goes to Slavyansk. To the west, from Bakhmut, the route goes to Kostyantynivka through the Seversky Donetsk-Donbas canal, and then to Pokrovsk and Dnipro.

The Russians have been fighting for Bakhmut for half a year already, they have already announced several times that it was “captured”. The city acquired a symbolic meaning for them. The Russians need to take it at any cost in order to report at least some success. They failed to take Kyiv “in three days”, and they failed to take Ukraine “in seven days” either. First of all, they dreamed of capturing Kharkiv, Odesa, Mykolaiv, calling them “Russian cities” and they failed here as well. From Kherson, the only captured regional center, they were also forced to leave.

It is already clear that the Russians have no chance. They have no chance to capture Zaporizhzhia. Bakhmut is at least something for the news that can be “fed” to the Russians through TV. Allegedly, there are “results” and “victories”. They are doing their best, and we destroy them. More than a hundred were liquidated in just one day. Ukraine is holding on, the front has been slightly leveled.

Yesterday there was a meeting of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander of Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelensky turned to Valery Zaluzhny (Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine — edit.) and Oleksandr Syrsky (Commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine — edit.) on the question of what to do with the Bakhmut direction. The military unequivocally spoke in favor of strengthening the defense, not for retreat. The headquarters unanimously voted that we would keep Bakhmut. This is the current political and military situation.

I want to say that the Russians are already throwing here not only the “mobilized freshmen” drafted from the occupied “LPR” and “DPR”, but also attack aircraft, paratroopers, and serious units of the “Wagnerites”. In general, everything they can. So the fights are tough. They suffer insane losses, it cannot be said that we are bulletproof. We also suffer losses, but they are not comparable with the Russian ones.

— What to expect at the front in the near future?

— There will be counteroffensives of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. No one can now say exactly where it will be, at what moment. As we joke, “don't spoil the surprise for the orcs, they won't be interested”.

We remember very well how we promised to take Kherson, concentrating all our forces there. Indeed, now it is hard to deceive someone in words, there are satellites and undercover intelligence. We really threw very powerful combat-ready units near Kherson, we gathered a group there, the enemy was preparing to defend themselves. We also joked that we were “secretly” preparing to advance on Kherson, the enemy was “secretly” preparing defenses, and therefore the operation was called “Citadel”. And then a sudden blow to the Izyum direction, Kharkiv region and an excellent result — we liberated several cities, a large territory, even Lyman.

It is possible that this will be the case here as well. We will concentrate forces, divert them, and the blow will be, say, from Kreminna or Zaporizhzhia to Berdyansk. It could be anything. Our command does not disclose this and does the right thing. War is the art of striking unexpectedly.

In general, we are holding Bakhmut. Reinforcements arrive. I can’t say how many, who and where are coming, because, again, we don’t want to spoil the surprise for the orcs. There is artillery, multiple launch rocket systems, aviation helps.

Everyone is fighting on Bakhmut: both the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and the territorial defense, and the National Guard, and the border guards here “give such a thing” that the special forces are resting, and the police. Everyone works for a common victory.

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