SW News: As the battle rages in Ukraine’s Bakhmut, President Volodymyr Zelensky has pledged to keep defending the city. The city is witnessing one of the fiercest fightings since the invasion began a year ago. Moscow is hoping to gain full control of the city and then strengthen its defenses.

If Russian troops occupy the city, then it will be the first step towards gaining control over the entire Donbas region. On Monday, the Ukrainian General Staff of the armed forces said that the Russian onslaught was relentless. In his address, President Zelensky said “both generals responded not to withdraw but to strengthen their defenses”.

During a meeting with the military top brass, the president asked about the regrouping of forces at the regional level. "I told the commander-in-chief to find the appropriate forces to help our guys in Bakhmut,” said the president.
Meanwhile, ammunition is running low on both sides as shells are being fired relentlessly round-the-clock on the eastern and southern fronts. Allies of Ukraine are ironing out an agreement to procure more ammunition.

With the help of hundreds of thousands of conscripts who were taken to the battlefront last year, Russia is launching an intensive offensive after it suffered humiliating losses during the second half of last year. This time, with the winter retreating, Moscow troops are engaged in trench warfare.

In spite of the fierce attacks, Russia has made little progress in the Luhansk province in the north of Ukraine and is suffering heavy losses in Vuhledar in the south. Until the arrival of new weapons and enough ammunition, Ukrainian troops are focused on defense and they have been doing so for the past three months. Once weapons arrive, they will launch a counter-offensive and by that time, the muddy terrain would have dried out.

According to US and European estimates, the Russian casualties amount to 200,000 and several thousand are feared dead on the Ukraine side as well. This makes the conflict in Eastern Europe the bloodiest since World War II.