If Ukraine allowed Russian troops it is easy to take Bakhmut, it would have paid the price much more than it pays now for its defense. This conclusion is contained in the next review of the American Institute for Studying War (ISW).
“Bakhmut itself does not have operational or strategic significance, but if the Russian troops took it relatively quickly and easily, they could count on the expansion of offensive operations that would force Ukraine to hastily equip defensive positions on a less favorable area” – say ISW experts.
The institute noted that Ukrainian troops previously used a similar model of gradual exhaustion of Russians, which is why, in pursuit of insignificant tactical successes, their operations in certain areas ended after months of large losses of personnel and equipment. So, at the beginning of the summer of 2022, Russian troops for months tried to break through the effective Ukrainian defense in Severodonetsk and Lisichansk, and captured Lisichansk only after the controlled departure of Ukrainians from this region. However, it soon turned out that the capture of Lisichansk did not bring operational successes to the Russian military, the Russian offensive in this area actually choked. The Ukrainian defense of Bakhmut will probably contribute to a similar result – Russian forces have been transferred to this region of the military and equipment since May 2022, but so far have not achieved any significant success in operational terms.
Now, according to ISW, Ukrainian forces actually hold Russian troops and equipment in the Bakhmut area, directing all the attention of the Russian command there. Thus, they do not allow Russia to continue the offensive in other areas. The main reason why Ukraine cannot take advantage of this situation lies in too slow supplies of weapons from allies, according to ISW.