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The United Kingdom’s Defense Intelligence reported on Saturday that Russia is aiming to encircle the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. The capture would threaten Russia’s large urban areas of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, according to intelligence reports.
“Russian forces continue to invest a large element of their overall military effort and firepower in the nearly 15-kilometer front-line sector around the Donetsk Oblast town of Bakhmut,” defense intelligence said. It added, “Russia’s plan is likely to encircle the city with strategic advances to the north and south. Beginning in August 2022, Russia prioritized Bakhmut as its main offensive effort. Capturing the town would have limited operational value although it would potentially allow Russia to threaten the larger urban areas of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk,” the intelligence suggested.
The UK’s intelligence agency said it is likely that capturing Bakhmut has become Russia’s main objective. “The campaign has been disproportionately expensive compared to these potential benefits. There is a real possibility that the capture of Bakhmut has become a primarily symbolic, political objective for Russia,” UK Intelligence reported.
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