Zelensky administration says Commander-in-Chief Valery Zaluzhny supports continued defense of Bakhmut

The Zelensky administration has published a press release saying that Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief Valery Zaluzhny and the commander of Ukraine’s Ground Forces Oleksandr Syrsky agree that Ukraine should continue defending Bakhmut.

According to the announcement, the two senior military officials replied in favor of defending Bakhmut when asked by President Zelensky about their opinions. It says that “they spoke in favor of continuing the defensive operation and of strengthening our positions in Bakhmut.”

The press release does not quote anything that either Zaluzhny or Syrsky said first-hand. The statement was published shortly after the German tabloid Bild suggested that Zelensky and Zaluzhny did not see eye-to-eye with regard to Bakhmut. The publication cited Kyiv insiders who said that, some weeks earlier, Zaluzhny had suggested that the president should consider withdrawing from Bakhmut, for tactical reasons.

Bakhmut has been under Russia’s assault since July 2022. Evgeny Prigozhin’s mercenary Wagner Group is currently conducting a ruthless offensive on the city, without sparing its own troops.

Earlier this month, Prigozhin said that Bakhmut was “practically enveloped” by Wagner formations, and urged the Ukrainian military to leave the city. Some Ukrainian army specialists then left Bakhmut, but the bulk of the Ukrainian grouping continues to defend it, amidst controversy as to whether this is still rational.