The decisive battle began ahead of schedule, and the decision of the Russian army exceeded Western expectations, which caught Western countries such as the United States and Britain and Ukraine by surprise. One problem that those who follow the situation in Ukraine have recently discovered is the successive routs of Ukraine on the battlefield. Ukraine began to very urgently request Western countries led by the United States to provide Ukraine with more weapons, the most urgent of which is all kinds of heavy weapons. The West, led by the United States, is also very dissatisfied with the current war situation in Ukraine and began to call on allies to provide assistance to Ukraine as soon as possible.
In addition to mobilizing its allies, the United States has also begun to directly help Ukraine train soldiers and accelerate the assistance of various types of weapons to Ukraine. Public opinion in Western countries is also making efforts, constantly spreading negative news about Russia, trying to confuse the public, interfere with Russia's decision-making, and influence Russia's domestic decision-making. The basic reason why Western countries and Ukraine are in a hurry is that Russia started the decisive battle in advance, which made Western countries and Ukraine miscalculate.
The Russian army attacked and took the important town, and Ukraine misjudged the timing of the decisive battle of the Russian army. The Russian commander announced that he had completely captured Soredar, occupied important mining areas and important hub areas here, cut off important communication channels for the Ukrainian army, and put the Ukrainian defenders in Bakhmut in a more serious situation. The capture of the important town of Soledar this time played an important role in the Russian army Wagner mercenaries, which was also confirmed by the Russian army.
It is obvious that Ukraine is insufficient in prediction of the powerful combat power of the Wagner mercenaries, which is also an important reason for the miscalculation of the Ukrainian army and the fiasco. Western countries such as the United States and Britain predict that the Russian army is currently in a difficult period and will not start a decisive battle in winter, believing that the Russian army will hold on to the Ukrainian army in winter and launch a decisive battle in the spring of 2023. The West's prediction is also reasonable, after all, the Russian army does consume a lot, and the supply of Russian weapons and ammunition is also facing difficulties, and launching a decisive battle in winter is also a great challenge for Russia.
Western countries such as the United States and Britain predicted the military operations of the Russian army based on intelligence information, but did not expect the Russian army to do the opposite. It cannot be said that the United States' prediction is unreasonable, according to the intelligence information they have, the Russian army does not have the reason to start a decisive battle in winter, but this time the Russian army let the United States make a mistake. Although the Russian army did not announce a general offensive or a decisive battle, the actions of the Russian army showed that the Russian army had started the decisive battle in advance. Because the United States misjudged, Ukraine also completely miscalculated.
Ukraine suffered a crushing defeat in the Soledar region, and the military force of about 15,000 troops was basically wiped out, including several main brigades of Ukraine. According to the pre-judgment information provided by the West, Ukraine mistakenly believes that the Russian army will launch a general offensive in the spring, so all preparations are based on the spring of the following year. Ukraine has also repeatedly released clear signals that the Ukrainian army will launch a major counteroffensive in the spring of 2023. However, the Russian army started the decisive battle in advance and did not proceed as the Ukrainian army designed.
The Ukrainian army miscalculated and was hit on many fronts, and the situation on the battlefield was very bad. The Russians captured Soledar through a sudden general offensive, winning the most important victory in months, which led to the loosening of the carefully constructed defense system of the Ukrainian army in the Suldar-Bakhmut region. It can be said that the strongest defense system built by Ukraine with the support of Western countries has been destroyed, and the Ukrainian army's next defense will face great problems. After capturing the important town, Russia took advantage of the victory to pursue, annihilated a large number of viable forces of the Ukrainian army, captured a large number of key points, and carried out key blows to the supply line of the Ukrainian army.
The acting leader of the Donetsk People's Republic, Denis Pushilin, revealed the latest information to the outside world that the Russian army has cut off the supply of the Armed Forces of Ukraine between Seversk and Artyomovsk. In the harsh winter, the supply line was cut off, which will be a great test for the Ukrainian troops trapped in Seversk and Artyomovsk. Of course, Ukraine has recently ushered in bad news, and the multi-line setback is the real situation of the Ukrainian army.
Against the background of blows on multiple fronts and increasing casualties, Ukraine can only choose to shrink its defense line. Railway transport between Seversk and Bakhmut has been cut off by Russian troops, and Russian troops and DPR troops entered the southern part of the city of Bakhmut and began to seize the block. In the case of tight fighting on the front line and a passive situation, a helicopter crash broke out in Ukraine, which can be described as a succession of blows. The Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs said that the helicopter in which Ukrainian Internal Minister Monastorsky, Deputy Minister Ye Nin and State Secretary Lubkovich were riding suddenly crashed, directly causing 18 deaths.
Undoubtedly, this is also a big blow for Ukraine. Successively hit the battle, the Ukrainian army is in a very difficult situation. Under the predicament, it is reported that 9 main brigades, including the 128th Independent Mountain Assault Brigade, the 43rd Artillery Brigade, the 118th Machine Infantry Brigade, the 58th Motor Infantry Brigade and the 112th and 125th Territorial Defense Brigade, have withdrawn from the Bakhmut front, seemingly to give up Bakhmut, and shrinking the defense line is the response choice of the Ukrainian army.
The Russian army was well prepared for the decisive battle, and Western aid began to flee. Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly stated on January 17 that Russia must maintain stable food reserves and, if necessary, restrict exports of certain products. This shows that Russia is ready for this decisive battle that began in advance, not on an ad hoc basis. The Russian army began to attack the Ukrainian army on multiple routes, and the situation facing Ukraine on the battlefield is also very pessimistic.
As Russia launched a fierce attack and was preparing to strike a larger blow on the Ukrainian army, Ukraine also encountered a troublesome thing, that is, Western reinforcements began to flee. According to reports, a large amount of Western aid from the front line such as Bakhmut, such as Western mercenaries, Western military advisers, intelligence personnel and special forces secretly supported by the West, are choosing to flee.
Western reinforcements are no longer optimistic about the current war, and the morale accumulated during the Ukrainian counteroffensive has completely disappeared. Western aid chooses to flee the front-line battlefield, which will also be a heavy blow to the Ukrainian army, after all, without the support of the West, it is difficult for Ukraine to make great achievements on the battlefield. "No food and ammunition inside, no rescue outside" is the current situation that Ukraine is facing on the front line of Bakhmut, which is also the basic reason why a large number of Western reinforcements fled. Ukrainian intelligence also confirmed that the Russian army is preparing to launch a larger attack, and it is clear that the Ukrainian army is now beginning to recognize that the Russian army has started a decisive battle in advance. Of course, Ukraine can realize this is conducive to the decision-making of the Ukrainian army, but the time is a little late, which makes the Ukrainian army pay a heavy price.