NATO does not rule out the possible collapse of Bakhmut's defenses. And it may happen in the coming days.
This was stated by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, quoted by The Guardian.
"Given the continuation of hostilities in Bakhmut, there is a possibility that it will fall in the coming days," Stoltenberg said before the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the EU with defense ministers.
NATO Secretary General emphasized that this will not be a "turning point" in the Russian war of aggression. However, this shows that Russia "cannot be underestimated" and Ukraine must continue to be supported.
"This only emphasizes that we should not underestimate Russia, we should continue to provide support to Ukraine, and NATO allies have supported Ukraine with military, financial and economic support in the amount of about 150 billion euros over the last year," Stoltenberg added.
Battles for Bakhmut
We will remind that Ukraine continues to defend Bakhmut, where Russia threw the most of its forces and the most prepared units.
Despite the difficult situation, the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhnyi and the commander of the Eastern Group of Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi at a meeting of the Headquarters on March 6 spoke in favor of continuing the defense of the city.
As President Volodymyr Zelenskyy explained, its people are important for Ukraine, and therefore the encirclement of our military cannot be allowed. As the head of state also explained, at the same time the defense of the city allows the Ukrainian army to prepare a counteroffensive in parallel.
It should be noted that, according to the Armed Forces, the supply routes to Bakhmut have not been cut off: weapons and medicines are being delivered to the military, and the wounded are being evacuated.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon said that even if the Russian military succeeds in capturing Bakhmut, it will not mean that Moscow will renew the momentum of its year-long military effort.
