Bachmut must be hell. The number of casualties is extremely high, it is reported. On both sides. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (44) nevertheless ventured into the city in eastern Ukraine, which had been heavily fought over for months. His spokesman Sergei Nikiforov said on Tuesday: “He visited the positions at the front and rewarded the fighters with decorations and valuable medals.”
The visit to the troops on the 300th day of the war was surprising. It was not announced in advance for security reasons. As recently as Monday, Selenski had described Bachmut as the “hottest point” on the front. For Marcel Berni (34), strategy expert at the Military Academy of ETH Zurich, Selenski shows strength with his detour to Bachmut. “This is probably Selenski’s most daring visit to the front in this war,” Berni told Blick.
Dissociation of Putin
In addition to the regular troops of Russian President Vladimir Putin (70), the infamous Wagner Group also fights at the front in Bakhmut. With the “risky visit,” says Berni, Selenski wants to show the world that the Ukrainian front is holding Bakhmut. In addition, “With his closeness to the troops, Selensky is very different from Putin.”
Bakhmut is located in Donetsk. This is one of four Ukrainian regions that Putin declared annexed in September. However, Russian troops only partially control these so-called oblasts. Heavy fighting has been raging around Bakhmut since the summer – with no major movements in the front line.
symbol of resistance?
“The city has been fought for months and it blocks the further advance of the Russians towards Sloviansk and Kramatorsk,” says Berni. “The fact that a visit by the president to this extremely hard-fought part of the front is possible is a moral and military setback for the Wagner group and Russian associations on the ground.” According to the strategy expert, Bachmut threatens to become a “symbol of the Ukrainian resistance”.
In a video distributed by the Ukrainian Telegram channel “Freedom”, Zelensky explains that he wants “to allow the soldiers, their families and children to live a normal life”. He also wished them to be warm and healthy. “It would also be nice if it were light, but the current situation is very difficult,” he said, referring to the electricity supply, which has come under constant fire from Russian troops. “But the most important thing is that there is light in our hearts,” says Selenski.
Moscow promises reinforcements
When asked why he had traveled to the soldiers in the war zone, Selenski replied: “They protect our lives by giving up theirs. We can at least occasionally risk our own lives.”
Meanwhile, in the safety of the Kremlin, Putin presented medals – including to the governors appointed by Moscow for the Ukrainian regions declared annexed. He described the Russian soldiers deployed in Ukraine as “heroes”. Putin had previously promised to send more military equipment and personnel to the disputed areas.