Russian propaganda media, citing The Wall Street Journal, reported that Western and Ukrainian officials and analysts called on the Ukrainian Armed Forces to leave Bakhmut and retreat to a new line of defense while such a withdrawal is possible. They say that the battle for Bakhmut takes place on Russia's terms, because of which the Armed Forces of Ukraine have lost the forces necessary for the spring offensive.

In fact, an article in The Wall Street Journal titled “Russia gains ground in east Ukraine as fight for Bakhmut intensifies”, which Russian resources refer to, does not contain any appeals to the Ukrainian army to leave Bakhmut. The article describes the situation on this sector of the front, where, according to the British Ministry of Defense, Russian troops and members of the Wagner Group paramilitary force “now most likely control the majority of Soledar, 6 miles northeast of Bakhmut”. The WSJ writes that the encirclement of the Armed Forces of Ukraine by the Russians in Bakhmut is still unlikely.

The article contains quotes from President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, military journalist Yurii Butusov and Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Hanna Maliar. Their words boil down to the fact that even with the capture of Soledar, the Russian army will not achieve anything and that the battle for Soledar continues. None of the Ukrainian representatives said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces allegedly “continue to fail”.

Bakhmut and Soledar in the Donetsk region remain the site of some of the fiercest fighting between the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the Russian occupiers. Russian propagandists use the information field in these battles, spreading fakes about non-existent movements or using fake calls for retreat, as in the case of the WSJ article. This is necessary to demonstrate success in the war after a series of defeats from the Armed Forces of Ukraine.