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       US defence planners claim that Ukrainian forces will be unable to simultaneously defend the eastern city of Bakhmut and launch a spring counteroffensive, and have urged Ukraine to prioritise the counterattack, according to US media reports.

       That's despite assessments from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) that Ukraine’s decision to defend Bakhmut would make strategic sense despite the likely costs for the country.

       The ISW reports that Kyiv's resistance in the city has forced the Kremlin to expend much of the Wagner Group as a force while committing high-value Russian airborne forces to sustain attritional advances.

       It added that defence efforts in Bakhmut have also degraded a significant section of Russian forces and will likely set favourable conditions for a future Ukrainian counteroffensive.

       To learn more about the situation in Ukraine, watch Euronew’s report by Sasha Vakulina in the video player above.