ISW: West concerned over Ukraine's decision to hold Bakhmut

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in a summary.

ISW believes that Ukraine's decision to defend Bakhmut is probably a strategically sound move, despite its costs:

Ukraine's defence of Bakhmut has forced the Kremlin to use much of the Wagner group as a force and leverage valuable Russian airborne forces to sustain the attrition offensive.

If Russian forces took Bakhmut without significant Ukrainian resistance, they could hope to expand operations so that Ukraine could hastily build defensive positions on less favourable terrain.

At the same time, US defence planners believe that Ukrainian forces cannot simultaneously defend the city and launch a spring counteroffensive, experts say.