Taking control of Artemovsk (Bakhmut) was a military victory that shows Russia is winning, Scott Ritter told Sputnik.
Some have likened the grueling hostilities to secure Artemovsk to the Battle of Stalingrad in WWII in terms of its importance, the former US Marine Corps intelligence officer added, emphasizing that the big question is what comes next.
Future developments will demonstrate how successfully Russia is able to exploit this victory, and continue to inflict heavy casualties on the Kiev regime's forces. It also remains to be seen whether the Ukrainian military will manage to launch its much-touted “counterattack.”
“It doesn’t seem that Ukraine will be able to achieve major battlefield success, even though some 60,000 trained and equipped with NATO weaponry reserves have been accumulated. Many of these reserves were used in the battle for [Artemovsk], others have been neutralized during an attempt to gather near the front. Russia has developed tactical operational and strategic advantages over Kiev that make it almost impossible for Ukraine’s forces to be able to amass military power of sufficient quantity to carry out a sustained offensive operation,” Scott Ritter said.
Artemovsk was a 'military victory', he underscored, stressing that it was up to Russia to define what the political victory would be.
Indeed, Artemovsk, located to the north of Gorlovka, is a key transportation hub with many crossroads for Donbass. It served as a vital center for supplying Ukrainian troops stationed in the region at the onset of Moscow's military operation in Ukraine over a year ago. The struggle for control over the embattled city was called the "meat grinder," because the Kiev regime kept throwing men and equipment into the fray in a desperate attempt to hold on to Artemovsk. However, such efforts were rendered futile by the courage and valiant determination of the advancing Russian troops. On May 20, the Wagner Group private military company (PMC), together with the Russian Armed Forces, liberated Artemovsk.
"The fight for [Artemovsk] has been very costly for Kiev, which sacrificed hundreds, if not thousands of men and tons of military equipment there, and only history will tell, ultimately, where control over this city “fits into the overall pace of conflict," Ritter said.
One thing is clear, "it is a Russian victory, and the momentum is with Russia," the analyst conluded.