Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled Tuesday to Bakhmout, in the Donbass, where Russian forces, supported by Wagner's mercenaries, are determined to take the city transformed into fields of ruin.
For several weeks, rumors of advances on both sides had been circulating suggesting the end of a deadly battle.
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"
He met soldiers, spoke with them and gave decorations to our soldiers
", indicated the press service to AFP of the presidency without further details.
The Russians have been trying to take the city since May 17.
"
Wagner has been there for a long time because they took part in the breakthrough of Popasna on May 7 which led to the collapse of the Kramatorsk salient
", recalls military historian Cédric Mas in
Le Figaro
.
Progress is difficult.
In question, the equal number of combatants on both sides, despite the arrival of reinforcements from Kherson since its abandonment, but also effective entrenchments.
"
In the Donbass, the lines have been fortified since 2015, which explains the rather slow progress in this area
," says Thibault Fouillet, research fellow at the Foundation for Strategic Research (FRS).
The Russians also come up against a tactical blockage: “
it is a logic where fire is superior to movement
”, he abounds.
"
The defense is too superior to the attack and the stop fire is very effective
", continues Cédric Mas.
The assailant after having bombarded tries to advance, but collides with the enemy whose artillery stops his breakthrough.
“
Each advance is costly and struggles to be sustainable because it consumes resources and soldiers.
This explains why the front freezes, then heats up.
During the First World War, this period had been overcome thanks to the plane/tank couple.
But here, drones and artillery complicate an armored offensive
”, deciphers Thibault Fouillet.
Read alsoWar in Ukraine: with the last human shadows in the pounded ruins of Bakhmout
President Volodymyr Zelensky also visited Kherson on November 14, the most populous city, conquered by the Russians at the start of the war, but liberated by the Ukrainian army on November 11.
His recovery sounds "
the beginning of the end of the war
" he announced then.