Will Ukrainians keep Soledar and Bakhmut? - Conversation with military analyst Alexander Musienko on “Çətin Sual”

The Russian Ministry of Defense unexpectedly announced the change of the commander of the Russian army in Ukraine - Sergei Surovikin was   substituted by Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the General Staff.

The message of the Russian Ministry of Defense, explained this "castling" by "an increase in the level of leadership of a special military operation" and "the expansion of the scale of tasks solved during its implementation, the need to organize closer interaction between the branches and branches of the armed forces."

However, it is doubtful that a change in commander will allow Russia to succeed. The personnel reshuffling in the command of the Russian army in Ukraine is more like aimless throwing in search of a way out.

Military analyst Oleksandr Musienko commented on the events taking place in the “Difficult Question» program.

He said that everything is now being done to keep Soledar and Bakhmut and defeat the Armed Forces  of Russia in this direction.

“The task of the Ukrainian Armed Forces is to wear them down, to weaken them, to make them exert as much effort as possible, storming on a narrow front, precisely in these areas,” the expert said.

Musienko recalled that the unsuccessful assault on Bakhmut had been going on for several months.

“And now they have switched to Soledar. Because they are looking for a gap in the defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and are trying to find a weak spot where they can break through the front line. Soledar is located several tens of kilometers north of Bakhmut and on the same line of defense. By continuously attacking these settlements, Russian troops are trying to pierce the Ukrainian defenses. So far, they have not been able to. The fighting in Soledar continues and reinforcements are sent there,” he said.

However, according to the expert, contrary to the calculations of the Russians, even if Bakhmut and Soledar fall, the front will not fall apart.

“Let me give you an example to make it clear. In May-June last year, fierce battles were fought in the east of Ukraine in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions. Then the Russians advanced with more resources, artillery, and heavy weapons. Then they simply demolished with artillery everything that was possible in their path. And then, too, there were heavy battles for Severodonetsk and Lisichansk. There was a threat of a breakthrough and capture by the Russian Armed Forces of the entire Donetsk region and even a breakthrough to the Dnieper and Zaporozhye.

But thanks to the skillful and competent actions of the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, it was possible to weaken the Russian Armed Forces so much that after the capture of Lisichansk they were forced to stop. They did not continue the offensive. Moreover, the Armed Forces of Ukraine managed to win back Belogorovka from them,” Musienko explained, adding that even if the most unfavorable scenario is assumed, Russia will not win strategically.

“Ukrainian troops will retreat to other lines and will continue to hold the front line,” the expert says.-0--