The situation in Bakhmut, Donetsk region, remains extremely difficult. The defense forces continue to repel the attempts of the offensive by the Russian occupiers.

This was told to Channel 24 by a military expert, reserve colonel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Sergey Grabsky. According to him, the Russian invaders are throwing all their strength into advancing in Bakhmut.

“The enemy is advancing. The Russians are counting meters to the administrative center of the city of Bakhmut,” Grabsky said.

The strategic role of the defense of Bakhmut

However, according to a military expert, the advance of the invaders is less than a hundredth of a percent of what the enemy managed to capture earlier. Grabsky emphasized that this is precisely the strategic role of the defense of Bakhmut.

The enemy, having concentrated such colossal resources on this symbolic place for us, misses the opportunity to carry out offensive operations in other sectors of the front, – explained the colonel of the reserve of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

He added that in fact the Ukrainian military tied the Russian army in this direction.

Sergei Grabsky told why the defense of Bakhmut is important: watch the video

Armed Forces of Ukraine near Bakhmut will win an important resource – time

It is very difficult for Ukrainian defenders. But in this way, the Ukrainian Defense Forces will win a strategic resource – time. As Grabsky explained, this is very important for two reasons.

1. This allows us to complete the training of our units abroad. After all, more than 10 thousand Ukrainian soldiers will finish their training in the West only at the end of March.
2. More or less serious deliveries of weapons and equipment will begin only from April, which are now coming from across the ocean to the ports of Europe.

The colonel of the reserve of the Armed Forces of Ukraine noted that the Ukrainian defenders not only defend Bakhmut, but also carry out successful counterattacks.

“We pushed the enemy back from the village of Khromovo. We also managed to stabilize the situation in the Ivanovsky area, where the enemy was exerting pressure,” Grabsky said.

Why Russia's Great Offensive Failed

Ukrainian authorities and Western intelligence have warned that Russia is preparing for a major new offensive in early 2023. As the military expert noted, the Kremlin even gathered twice the size of the group for this purpose than in February 2022.

The Russians hoped for a large-scale offensive, and not only from the direction of the Eastern Front, but also from the North,” Grabsky said.

However, the occupiers' plans failed, as they had to concentrate their efforts only in the East of Ukraine. The colonel of the reserve of the Armed Forces of Ukraine noted that the Ukrainian front rests not only on Bakhmut.

” The entire Eastern Front, from Dvuhletny to Ugledar, is the culminating moment of our defense for today, when we repulse enemy attacks and do not give him the opportunity to advance,” said the colonel of the reserve of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The Russian offensive has reached its peak

According to Grabsky, the Russian offensive in the East is gradually approaching its climax.

“There is no such army in the world that could attack continuously for 1.5 months. This goes beyond the limits of assessing the capabilities of offensive operations,” the military expert emphasized.

He added that in the case of Russia, the offensive resembles the execution of a political order, when the Kremlin throws everything it can into battle. Now the Russian Ministry of Defense plans to recruit another 400,000 contract soldiers in order to introduce them to the war.

Now the peak situation of the Russian offensive has come. Although this is not yet the culmination. The enemy has not yet attracted all the resources, after which the offensive operation could have failed,” Grabsky noted.

The military expert added that the Russian invaders are still trying to break through at least somewhere.

What is happening near Bakhmut: latest news

• The situation in the Bakhmut direction remains very difficult, but the Ukrainian defenders continue to repulse the Russian invaders, destroying Russian personnel and equipment. In particular, on March 15, soldiers of the 93rd brigade of the Armed Forces destroyed the occupants' Su-24 aircraft.
• In the Bakhmut direction, the enemy does not leave attempts to capture the city of Bakhmut, where constant positional battles continue.
• The situation in Bakhmut was a priority during the meeting of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief on 14 March. Vladimir Zelensky announced that the direction should be strengthened, and the invaders should be destroyed as much as possible.