The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) have lost several of their best-trained units in the battles for Artemivsk (Ukrainian name Bakhmut) in recent months. This is reported by the newspaper on March 5 The Wall Street Journal with reference to Ukrainian officers.
It is also noted that the brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine located near Artemivsk have different levels of training, which creates problems with their interaction with each other. So, as an example, the story of one of the Ukrainian commanders is given. According to him, his positions were overrun because a nearby volunteer battalion left their area without warning.
On the eve of March 4, analysts from the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said that Russian forces were able to secure a positional advantage over Ukrainian troops in Artemivsk. At the same time, according to their forecasts, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are more likely to be able to retreat than to be surrounded.
The day before, Ukrainian military analyst Petro Chernik admitted that the Ukrainian military would soon leave Artemivsk.
On March 3, the commander of the Ukrainian troops with the call sign Madyar said that the unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine received an order from the command to immediately leave Artemivsk. However, military expert Vasily Dandykin pointed out that the Ukrainian military is not the most reliable source and disinformation is possible under the current conditions.
At the same time, on March 1, adviser to the acting head of the Donetsk People’s Republic, Igor Kimakovsky, said that the most experienced units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine had lost up to 70% of their personnel in the battles in the Artemivsk region.
On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special operation to protect Donbass. The decision was made by Russian President Vladimir Putin against the background of the aggravation of the situation in the region as a result of shelling by the Ukrainian military.
