ISW: Wagner would have taken a "tactical break" in Bahmut
The Wagner private mercenary group is reportedly taking a "tactical pause" in Bahmut, according to the US Institute for the Study of War (ISW). US experts also believe Wagner is waiting for reinforcements from Russian troops before re-engaging in the decisive battle - the most violent since the war began.
"The arrival of large numbers of Russian forces in the area may suggest that Russian forces intend to counterbalance the possible peak of Wagner's offensive operations in Bahmut with new conventional troops," the American Institute for the Study of War said.
The fighter group, made up mainly of criminals recruited from Russian prisons, was founded by oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin and was a key force in the assault on the eastern Ukrainian city.
Bahmut has been the scene of fierce fighting for months, and Wagner said he took control of the eastern part of the city earlier this week.
It is unclear whether the group "will retain operational preponderance in future Russian offensives in the city," according to the Institute for the Study of War.
Ukraine has decided to continue fighting for control of the ruined city of Bahmut because the battle there takes out Russia's best units and affects the military capability of the army and the Wagner group ahead of a planned Ukrainian counteroffensive this spring, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mihailo Podoliak said, according to Reuters.
Podoliak's comments were the latest signal of Kiev's strategy to continue defending the small eastern city, the site of the bloodiest battle of the war, as Moscow seeks to secure its first victory in more than half a year, reports Digi 24.
"Russia has changed its tactics," Podoliak said in an interview published by an Italian newspaper. According to the Ukrainian president's adviser, Russia has sent to Bahmut a large part of its trained military personnel, with the remnants of its professional army as well as private companies.
Mikhail Podoliak added that the Ukrainian military has several goals: to reduce their Russian personnel as much as possible, to lock them into a few key gruelling battles, and to concentrate their resources elsewhere for the spring counteroffensive that will take place in the next two months.
