A German newspaper recently reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny have "fundamentally different views" on the situation in the town of Artemovsk, known in Ukraine by its pre-Soviet name Bakhmut.
While Zaluzhny insists on the retreat of Ukrainian forces from Artemovsk "for tactical reasons", Kiev authorities adhere to the stance that it’s necessary to hold on to the town, according to the newspaper.
"[...] The Ukrainian leadership, and especially Mr. Zelensky, who needs to prove to the West that the Ukrainian forces can still surprise and demonstrate that Western military aid is not in vain," cannot but cling to Artemovsk, Konovalov said.
When asked why Ukrainian troops continue to hold on to the town despite their huge losses there, the Russian military expert said that "Mr. Zelensky does not care about the Armed Forces of Ukraine’s casualties."
"His task is to show to his [Western] curators that this or that settlement is still under Ukrainian forces’ control. And at what cost it takes place is all the same to him. He is only interested in one thing: his image in front of Western curators and arms suppliers, because it is related to how long he will be at the helm of Ukraine," Konovalov pointed out.
He added that "on the other hand, Zaluzhny knows full well that from a strategic point of view," the possible fall of Artemovsk "can result in a catastrophe that will shake the entire central frontline.” Konovalov suggested that Kiev’s main problem in Artemovsk is that “a political necessity has clashed with military expediency.”
According to the expert, “the situation [in the town] is obvious and the fall of Artemovsk is a foregone conclusion."
The remarks followed the Wagner private military group announcing last week that they had surrounded Artemovsk, located in Donbass, following months of fighting that has taken a heavy toll on Kiev's forces, developments that come amid Russia's ongoing special military operation in Ukraine.