President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhny had a disagreement about the fate of the city of Bakhmut (Russian name is Artemovsk), Bild publication wrote citing its sources.
According to the German publication, the president and the commander-in-chief share fundamentally different views on what is happening in the city. Several weeks ago, Zaluzhny suggested thinking about an opportunity for the Ukrainian forces to retreat from the city for tactical reasons, while the president considers it necessary to continue to hold Artemivsk.
However, a Ukrainian military analyst said speaking on condition of anonymity that most of the Ukrainian soldiers on the front lines did not understand why the city was still being held.
"The guys in Bakhmut want to know what the strategy is? They want to know why they should entrench themselves when the enemy is surrounding them" he said.
The Ukrainian fighters believe that they should have received an order to retreat long ago, Bild said. One of the military said that the situation in which the Armed Forces would be completely surrounded in the city would be a disaster.
Earlier, sources among Ukrainian officers told The Wall Street Journal that the Armed Forces of Ukraine had lost several best-trained army units near Bakhmut over the past couple of months. Combat-ready units have been defeated, the publication said adding that Kyiv had deployed units with different levels of motivation and training to the city.
According to Ukrainian commander with call sign Magyar, the Armed Forces of Ukraine lose a company or two per day.
"A company stays alive for one night" he said adding that the Armed Forces of Ukraine lose a whole battalion within a week. Therefore, it seems appropriate to pull back from the city.
According to The New York Times, the Kyiv authorities started preparing for the surrender of Bakhmut contrary to statements from President Zelensky.
Last month Zelensky called Bakhmut a fortress and pledged that Ukraine would not give up on the city. However, Ukrainian officials have been preparing the public for its possible surrender, the newspaper said.