Kyiv reportedly wants to cannibalize to drop the anti-armour bomblets contained in the MK-20 cluster bombs to drop them on Russian forces from drones.Ĭluster munitions, banned by more than 120 countries, normally release large numbers of smaller bomblets that can kill indiscriminately over a wide area, threatening civilians. Ukraine has asked for controversial cluster weapons from the US as it broadens its requests for weapons
For Russian President Vladimir Putin, prevailing there would finally deliver some good news from the front.įor Kyiv, the display of grit and defiance reinforces a message that Ukraine is holding on after a year of brutal attacks, justifying continued support from its allies in the West. The city's importance has become mostly symbolic. The Russian push for Bakhmut reflects the Kremlin's broader struggle to achieve battlefield momentum. Analysts say it does not hold major strategic value and its capture would be unlikely to serve as a turning point in the conflict.
Russian forces have been unable to deliver a knockout blow that would allow them to seize Bakhmut. Intense Russian shelling targeted the city in the Donetsk region and nearby villages as Moscow waged a three-sided assault. Mr Zelensky's top adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, said no decision has been made to retreat because of "a consensus among the military about the need to continue defending the city" and grinding down enemy forces "while building new lines of defence".īy pressing the defence, Ukraine has exhausted Russia's main combat-ready groups and trained tens of thousands of Ukrainian military personnel for a possible counteroffensive, he said. Volodymyr Zelenskyy chaired a meeting on Monday in which top military brass "spoke in favour of continuing the defence operation and further strengthening our positions in Bakhmut".
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