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654381October 4th, Rigzin, the head of the Russian mercenary company Wagner, said that the Russian army was in trouble when attacking the Ukrainian town of Bakhmut, because Ukraine made tenacious resistance and established an extensive network of fortifications. Preeg Zin said that in Bachmut, "every family has a difficult lesson".

At the same time, Ukrainian President Zelensky said, "According to the information we have, Russia is planning to use the Iranian witness drone to carry out a lasting attack, which is to exhaust our personnel, air defense system and energy. Ukraine must take all actions to let Russia's goals fail. " At present, the Ukrainian army is exhausted, especially in the eastern town of Bakhmut, which has been fighting bloody battles for several weeks.

Kushennengke, a priest of the Ukrainian army, even said that the officers and men of the Ukrainian army who fought in Bakhmut had incredible morale fatigue and various psychological conditions. Soldiers believe that "they are human consumables and can only wait for death."

The 26-year-old Ukrainian army priest Kushennengke did not live with the army, but lived alone in an abandoned mansion in Bakhmut. In order to visit the front line every day and bring comfort to the front line officers and soldiers, he must save himself first. "So I can't get too close to them."

In the war-torn Bakhmut, Kushenenko's duty is to maintain the "high morale" of officers and men in the most dangerous stronghold on the front line of Wudong, but according to him, the actual situation is quite different from what the outside world thinks.

Kushenko said that Ukrainian soldiers fighting in Bakhmut experienced "unbelievable morale fatigue" and various psychological conditions appeared. Under the endless war, some soldiers give up on themselves, thinking that they are "just human consumables and can only come to die."

He said: "These officers and men have not rotated, so that they have been fighting in the front line and cannot rest and make up. They miss their loved ones and haven't seen their families for a long time. "

Kushennengke said that some officers and men suffered from "panic disorder", with trembling hands and fidgeting, unable to engage in tasks. Others in the front line are also in a bad psychological state and feel abandoned and forgotten.

Kushennengke used to be a prison priest, sometimes serving patients and sick children in COVID-19. He said that in today's difficult military conditions, many officers and men need comfort when answering the difficult questions raised by officers and men. As a priest in the army, my role is to constantly remind them "why come and fight for whom".

The Russian army and the Russian "Wagner" mercenary group stormed for more than six months, and both Russia and Ukraine suffered heavy casualties. Bakhmut was originally a town with a population of about 70,000 before the war, but now most of the city has been destroyed and civilians have been evacuated.

Senior officials of the U.S. Department of Defense have previously said that the battle situation in Oolong Noon Donbass is the fiercest around Bakhmut, and Russia has captured the city, but the city is still in Uzbekistan's hands. For some reason, we continue to see that Russia regards this region as the focus of its fighting.

Bakhmut is located about 700 kilometers east of Kiev and 80 kilometers north of Donetsk, the capital of Donetsk. At the beginning of 20 14, Kiev invaded Udong, and Bakhmut was one of the earliest places where war broke out.

On July 20 14, Ukrainian government forces recaptured the town from Donmas militia and changed the name of the town from Artemi Fusk to Bakhmut. Since 20 16, most urban areas have been rebuilt and become an important trade and transportation hub in Donbass.

Officials and military experts say that Bakhmut is now like the only battlefield on the front line of Donbass that has been stormed by Russian troops. If Russian troops seize the local area, it will not only disrupt the transportation routes of Ukrainian troops, but also knock on the door to Tusk and Slavyansk in Franz Klammer. These two cities are not only large in scale, but also have more industries and railways. Slavyansk is the base camp of Ukrainian army in Wudong.

According to the information held by Ukrainian and western intelligence circles, Wagner mercenaries, who played an important role in the capture of upor and northern Donetsk in Mali, were one of the main forces of Russian troops attacking Bakhmut, advancing all the way from the east and southeast of Bakhmut.

Polish military observer Musica said: "As far as I know, the Russian attack on Bakhmut only used infantry and artillery, not chariots and armored vehicles. Most of them are mainly Wagner attacks rather than regular Russian troops. "

In the past few weeks, Russian troops gradually approached and captured a furniture factory and a factory producing windows in the east of the city, and gained most important locations outside Bachmut. However, Russian troops and Wagner mercenaries did not capture the city when they entered and exited, which puzzled western experts.

The Washington Institute of War Studies, a Washington think tank, said in the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield report 1 1 at the end of June 2022: "The cost of the bloody battle in Bakhmut in the past six months has far exceeded the operational benefits that the Russian army can gain after seizing the city."

However, Preeg Jin, the founder and boss of Wagner mercenary group, released the message at the end of 2022 10 that Bakhmut should be regarded as the strategic focus of destroying the effective force of the Ukrainian army. He said on social media, "Our goal is not the city of Bakhmut, but to destroy the Ukrainian army and weaken their combat strength, which is extremely beneficial to other fronts, which is why the Russian action is called the Bakhmut meat grinder; In view of this, we don't need to occupy the city. "

"Boys are fighting for every house, sometimes for more than a day. Sometimes it takes them weeks to tear down a house. They took one house and another. "

Some military experts pointed out that the Ukrainian army had to defend the underground isolated city of Bakhmut after losing its peripheral tactics. In the past few weeks, the casualties were not light, and some troops originally used for counter-offensive were forced to be mobilized from the south to help Bakhmut, which was not conducive to mastering the initiative on the battlefield.

Extended reading:

Media: The crazy attack of Russian troops on Bachmut town is confusing.

The Russian-Ukrainian war entered the 10 month, during which there were many long-term battles, such as the siege of upor in Mali and the defense of northern Donetsk, which all lasted for one or two months. However, the battle of Bakhmut in Donetsk, which is still fighting, has lasted for four months since August and has become the most intense battlefield of the Russian-Ukrainian war.

It is said that the battle of Bakhmut has become the bloodiest war so far, even comparable to the great battle of World War I because of its positional warfare, high casualties and basically static front.

Although this medium-sized city has been bombarded by the Russian army since May, it was only in August that the Russian army launched a full-scale attack on Bakhmut, and the generals put more and more resources into the front line in an attempt to bring the Russian army a much-needed victory before the end of the year.

Since June 165438+ 10, the situation has further deteriorated, because Russian troops evacuated from Hellson have been redeployed to the front line in Donbass, and there are also thousands of newly recruited Russian soldiers.

Despite months of fighting, thousands of civilians in Bakhmut are still struggling to make a living. They slept in a bomb shelter in the basement, looking for plants and firewood to keep warm.

Russia's determination to continue attacking Bakhmut puzzled many observers. Why does Moscow invest a lot of resources in this small town compared with other cities?

Bachmut is located on a huge salt mine. In the Soviet era, it was famous for its wineries. Its industry is not important and its population is small. The population before the war was about 73,000. However, Bachmut is located on an important highway. If Bakhmut can be captured, it will provide a small strategic foothold for Russia to March northward into Slovyansk controlled by Ukraine or launch another wave of offensive against Kramatorsk.

At this point, strategic analysts have long known that they are puzzled that it is not worthwhile to pay too much heavy price in order to seize this strategic node. Even if the Russian army wins, it will consume their subsequent combat capability.

It's hard to explain why the Russian army was so violently involved in the battle in Bakhmut, said Polish defense strategist Muzka. The biggest reason may be that after Russia's defeat in Kharkov, they need a result that can be publicized internally and try their best to win Bakhmut to boost Russian morale.

The main force to attack Bachmut includes Wagner mercenaries, supported by Russian artillery, mobilization troops and air power. Wagner mercenaries were organized by Russian businessman Prigozin, including thousands of mercenaries recruited from Russian prisons. After the war broke out, Wagner mercenaries gradually became known from behind the scenes before going to the stage.

So far, the Russian army's frontal offensive in Bakhmut and its surrounding areas has basically been repelled by Ukrainian defenders, so Wagner mercenaries are under pressure not to lose. Gallioti, a Russian security expert at University College London, said that if Wagner forces finally capture Bakhmut, their status and Prigozin's reputation in Russia will be greatly enhanced.

At present, the situation in Bachmut is not optimistic. Months of shelling have caused serious damage to the city and its infrastructure. At present, there are less than 65,438+0,000 civilians left in this city, and most places have been cut off from water and electricity. And in recent weeks, Wagner's troops are gradually approaching the city.

Last month, Russian troops entered the village of Opina near Bakhmut, but Ukraine's counterattack was still strong.

Muzka believes that even if the Russian army lays down Bakhmut, it is unlikely to have a major impact on the overall operational situation.