ISW: Russian forces have secured sufficient positional advantage in Artemovsk

The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) notes in a new analytical review of the situation in Ukraine that Russian forces seem to have provided enough positional advantage to bypass certain areas of Bakhmut (Artemovsk). At the same time, the institute’s analysts believe that in the near future the city will not be completely surrounded and the Ukrainian troops will continue to resist.

Earlier, ISW noted that Ukrainian troops began to create conditions for a controlled withdrawal from combat positions in Artemivsk. In recent days, Wagner Group units have made progress in the northeast and east of Artyomovsk, creating a tactically difficult turning movement in urban areas in the north of the city.

Ukrainian officials say the Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to hold the city, while acknowledging that “circumstances are becoming increasingly difficult and that the Wagner Group has committed its most advanced and trained units to assault operations.”

The ISW estimates that the Ukrainian forces would “retreat rather than be surrounded, and that the Ukrainians can still hold their positions in Bakhmut.” The Institute experts believe that the Ukrainian command will evaluate whether the attacks of Russian forces can end behind the current positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and this will determine the decision to stay or give the order to withdraw.