MOSCOW, March 29. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky believes that his nation would put pressure on him to make compromises with Russia unless Kiev wins a victory in Artyomovsk (known as Bakhmut in Ukraine).
In an interview with The Associated Press, he said the pressure from a defeat in Artyomovsk would come quickly.
"Our society will feel tired," Zelensky said. "Our society will push me to have compromise with them (Russia - TASS)."
According to the AP, while some Western military analysts have suggested that Artyomovsk is not of significant strategic importance, Zelensky warned that a loss anywhere at this stage could put Ukraine’s hard-fought momentum at risk. "The war is a pie - pieces of victories. Small victories, small steps," Zelensky said. "We can’t lose the steps."
"Zelensky’s comments were an acknowledgement that losing the seven month-long battle for Bakhmut <…> would be more of a costly political defeat than a tactical one," the AP writes.
So far, Zelensky said, he had felt no pressure from the West. On the contrary, there has been international support to Ukraine, he underscored.
Artyomovsk is located in the Kiev-controlled part of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR). Fierce battles for the city are in progress. Last week, Yan Gagin, an adviser to the acting head of the DPR, said that the Russian army had almost completely blocked the city. All roads are within the range of Russian artillery fire. The Russian forces have liberated about 70% of the territory of Artyomovsk, Gagin said.
Acting DPR leader Denis Pushilin has repeatedly said there is no indication that Ukrainian troops are going to cede Artyomovsk. Meanwhile, Kiev has promised to beef up the city’s defenses. Zelensky said earlier that Ukrainian troops in Artyomovsk would not surrender and would keep fighting for the city as long as they can.