Volodymyr Zelensky made the statement in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera on Sunday, Britain’s The Guardian reported.
It came amid a debate over whether Ukrainian forces should remain in the battle-scarred city, which has been nearly totally destroyed by Russian shelling, according to news outlets.
Fewer than 5,000 civilians remain in Bakhmut, out of a pre-war population of 70,000, Ukrainian officials say, according to The Guardian.
‘We’ll defend Bakhmut but not at any price’
Zelensky told Corriere della Sera: “Yes, it is not a particularly big town. In fact, like many others in Donbas, it’s been devastated by the Russians. It is important for us to defend it, but not at any price and not for everyone to die.”
The Ukrainian president added that Russian commanders intended to press on to the cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, further west in the eastern Donetsk region “and as far as" the central city of Dnipro.
He vowed: “We will resist and meanwhile prepare the next counterattack.”
According to military analysts, Bakhmut is a symbolic target rather than a strategically important city, but has played an important role by pinning down Russian occupying forces since July.
‘Bakhmut is a trap for Russian forces’
"There are no grounds at this time for the Ukrainian military to leave Bakhmut; the town is not surrounded," said military analyst Oleksandr Kovaleno of the Ukrainian think tank Information Resistance, as quoted by the Reuters news agency on Monday.
Kovaleno added: "Bakhmut plays an important role. It serves as a trap. For nine months it has drawn in the resources and means of the Russian occupying forces and they have been killed in large numbers. It must be regarded not as a fortress, but as a trap."
Meanwhile, the British Ministry of Defence has said that “Russia will claim that Bakhmut has been captured to align with the anniversary" of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, "regardless of the reality on the ground.”
Russian forces "are likely under increasing political pressure as the anniversary of the invasion draws near,” the UK analysts said in their latest intelligence report.
Russia ‘lacks reserves’ to step up Luhansk offensive: ISW
At the same time, Russia “likely lacks sufficient uncommitted reserves to dramatically increase the scale or intensity" of its offensive in the next-door Luhansk region this winter, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in its latest report on Sunday night.
According to the US think tank, Russian troops probably secured small gains in the northern suburbs of Bakhmut and on its eastern edges.
Monday is day 362 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: The Guardian, Reuters, UK Ministry of Defence, Institute for the Study of War