Bakhmut to hold: the HQ of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief decision

Yuriy Butusov, Editor in Chief of censor.net outlet analyses the decision of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine decided to continue the defense of Bakhmut.

Among the Headquarters’ participants were the generals who had led the defense of Debaltseve, that is, we are sure, they had drawn conclusions from that experience, and their decisions on the defense of Bakhmut will fully correspond to the real situation, because we must learn from our mistakes, right? 

Therefore, based on the Headquarters’ decision, I expect:

1. A general or a colonel will arrive in Bakhmut to deploy a command post, with the aim of unified control of all troops in the town based on the real situation rather than a paper map somewhere in the high headquarters, because fast decisions and interaction in such a situation are crucial. The troops must hold positions that allow them to inflict losses on the enemy; no one can see that on a map. It is irresponsible to control the situation based on a map outside the town and without taking into account the actual combat strength of the troops.

2. The command in the town must ensure a single situational awareness of all units in order to understand in such a complex situation where our and enemy troops are located, which zones in the town are under fire from heights and enemy-controlled streets. There must be communication between all units. Interaction is crucial for avoiding friendly fire in such conditions. If this is not done, there will be unjustified losses.   

3. The offensive from the north for encircling the town must be stopped, which can be done only by using combat-ready reserves. That is, not to send someone somewhere to a point on a map, as was in Debaltseve, but to personally control the deployment, help to dig in, organize round-the-clock reconnaissance. It was done south of Bakhmut, and the front is holding there.    

4. Provide ammunition for defeating at least group targets.

5. Engineering equipment must ensure the accessibility of several communication routes that the enemy has not reached yet, as the main route is shot through. And wheeled vehicles will not drive through the fields themselves.

6. All military equipment in the town must be provided with spare parts, mobile repair units must be formed to help check the combat effectiveness of the equipment, because no one will mess with the equipment in the conditions of enemy encirclement, and there will be no time to wait for the delivery of spare parts either. Let’s not repeat the mistakes of Debaltseve, when due to the command’s irresponsibility, due to minor malfunctions and technical unpreparedness a lot of equipment had to be left behind.

7. In a difficult combat situation, soldiers do not need reassuring good news, they are sufficiently motivated. They need the truth about the situation, realistic tasks, personal presence of commanders, responsibility for people’s lives, which must be manifested in constant information and constant clear orders.

Yuriy Butusov

Ukraine Front Lines

Tags: Bakhmut russia ukraine war ukraine front lines