President: It’s important to defend Bakhmut but not at any cost

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky made a corresponding statement in an interview with the  Corriere della Sera Italian newspaper, Ukrinform reports.

Answering the question of whether it is worth losing people for the sake of defending a small town in Donbas, he noted: "Yes, it is not a particularly big town. Actually, like many other towns in Donbas destroyed by the Russians. It is important for us to defend it but not at any cost and not so that everyone dies. We will fight as long as it is reasonable, as long as the Russians try to continue their offensive on Kramatorsk and Slovyansk, to reach the administrative borders of Donbas and the Dnipro River."

The Head of State noted that the Ukrainian defenders would resist and, in the meantime, would get ready for a further counteroffensive.

He also emphasized that Ukraine was preparing for a short war and a quick victory.

"The sooner it comes, the fewer victims we will have. In 2014, the conflict was frozen and it did not benefit us. The Minsk agreements gave Putin time to prepare for a sudden attack... but we will not fall into the same trap again," the President of Ukraine stressed.