HOW THE HECK DID UKRAINE TRICK VLAD INTO THIS?:

The US-based Institute for the Study of War reported that Ukraine's attacks on Bakhmut's flanks "forced Russian troops to allocate scarce military resources... as Ukrainian command likely intended".

Ukraine has tamped down speculation that the advances are its long-awaited offensive but drawing growing numbers of Russian troops into the deadly fight in Bakhmut carries significant advantages for Kyiv's fightback.

"What they [Ukrainians] needed to do was to, one, weaken the Russians as much as possible before they do that counteroffensive, and secondly, buy time to get that force ready," said Phillips O'Brien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St Andrews in Scotland.

"They calculated - I believe it was the right choice - that in fighting for Bakhmut, they could do both," he told US media outlet NPR in an interview aired on Saturday.

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