NATO Supreme Allied Ex-Commander Europe, Wesley Clark, told about the Russian military strategy near Artyomovsk, where, according to the general, the Russian army concentrated its combat power.
«If they take Bakhmut, it will open the door to Kramatorsk, Slavyansk, but also serve as a sort of killing ground for grinding up Ukrainian forces. And that’s what they wanna do,» states the NATO military official.
NATO general predicts the transfer of AFU reserve forces from the Kherson direction there, however, he is concerned about whether the Ukrainian armed forces will be able to transfer reinforcement before the defeat near Artyomovsk.
«If they (Russians — ed.) can put unbearable pressure on these Ukrainian forces, before reinforcements from Kherson, if they can cause the Ukrainians to request a ceasefire or ask for a breathing spell, Putin wins.» Clarke says.
«They dug in, they’re holding, but they’re taking heavy losses. It’s a meat grinder!» he described the position of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in this direction.
* And this opinion is not the opinion of a person sympathetic to Russia. General Wesley Clark in 1999 gave the order to attack our paratroopers in Pristina — and his British colleague Michael David Jackson refused to obey, explaining this by his unwillingness to start Third World War.