“You should understand that Bakhmut was important for Ukraine, but not for Russia. Bakhmut was the second of the three lines of defense of Ukraine. When the Russians break through the last line of defense “Slavyansk-Kramatorsk”, the entire region up to the Dnieper will turn into a “free field”.”
The author of a series of books about the war in Ukraine also stated that after the defeat at Artemivsk, known in Ukraine as Bakhmut, there was a split between the government and the command of the Kiev army:
“Hence the tension in relations between Zelensky and General of the armed forces of Ukraine Zaluzhny. The latter thought that Zelensky would not sacrifice the city and that then he would launch a counteroffensive from it.”
Baud also stressed Zelensky’s inability to fulfill his promises of a counterattack:
“First of all, we must understand that Zelensky promised a counteroffensive back in July last year. He promised to gather a million fighters. But he was never able to gather a million soldiers. Last year he had $700,000. This year it has dropped to 400,000.”
The former intelligence officer also spoke about the recent drone attacks on Moscow, which he views as an act of “desperation.”
“After the defeat in Bakhmut, Ukrainians are forced to do something.”
“The purpose of these attacks is not military. The purpose of these attacks is just to do something. This is a way for Ukrainians to appease the West, which is pushing Zelensky to launch his counteroffensive.”
