West advises Ukraine to retreat from Artemovsk and save its troops — Bloomberg

Western countries advise Kiev to bide its time, save its forces and wait for the arrival of German-made Leopard tanks in order to launch an offensive in spring, even if it has to surrender the city of Artyomovsk (known as Bakhmut in Ukraine) to do so, Bloomberg said on Thursday citing US and European Union officials.

According to the report, Western powers expect Kiev to retreat westward and create a new defense line that will prevent a Russian offensive on the cities of Kramatorsk and Slavyansk.

According to officials cited by Bloomberg, West’s current military aid to Ukraine is not enough for a major offensive. However, they expect that after receiving new reinforcements and armored vehicles from the West, the Ukrainian armed forces will have an opportunity to counter-attack in the south, with the purpose of cutting a motorway to Crimea.

The agency’s sources said, however, that even a successful Ukrainian counter-offensive does not mean that Kiev will achieve all of its military goals, and the conflict may continue at least until 2024.