Ukraine is not going to leave Bakhmut, Donetsk Region, and will begin the de-occupation of Donbas on the condition of receiving long-range weapons. This was announced by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a press conference following the results of the Ukraine-EU Summit on Friday, February 3.
Zelenskyy said that Ukraine needs air defense to close the sky and speed up the supply of weapons to fight Russian aggression, because it is Ukrainian stability that protects Europe from the aggressive plans of the Russian Federation.
"No one will surrender Bakhmut. We will fight as long as we can. We consider Bakhmut our fortress... If there is an acceleration in the supply of weapons, especially long-range weapons, we will not move away from Bakhmut, we will begin to liberate Donbas, which has been occupied since 2014," emphasized the President.
Russia will intensify the pressure in the east of Ukraine, so appropriate weapons will help push back the aggressor's troops, Zelenskyy said.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on February 3, the commander of the intelligence center of the Estonian Defense Forces, Colonel Margo Grosberg, said that Ukrainian troops may leave Bakhmut to defend Kramatorsk and Slovyansk in the Donetsk Region.
According to Bloomberg, among high-ranking U.S. officials there is an opinion that the Armed Forces of Ukraine should withdraw from Bakhmut in order to preserve forces for an attack in the eastern direction.
At the same time, the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) believes that keeping Bakhmut and nearby settlements of the Donetsk Region is strategically justified despite the losses that Ukraine is suffering.
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