 If Bakhmut is captured, Russian offensive in east will reach its peak. Experts from the Institute of the Study of War, ISW, of US predict that the Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine will soon reach its peak if the invaders capture Bakhmut. Yegevny Pligozhin, the financier of the Wagner Group, PMC, announced that Russian troops had captured the eastern part of Bakhmut. And this claim, the report says, is consistent with the available visual evidence. The ISW estimated that Ukrainian forces completed a controlled withdrawal from eastern Bakhmut across the Bakhmutka River. The ISW estimates that Russian forces occupy at least 50% of Bakhmut as of the 8th of March. Analysts suggest that Russian forces are likely to intensify attacks to the northwest and southwest of Bakhmut in order to bypass the Bakhmutka River. The invaders are unlikely to be able to quickly exploit the breach beyond Bakhmut if they capture the city. Pligozhin suggested that the Russian Ministry of Defense was using the Wagner Group to bear the brunt of high-intensity attritional urban warfare in Bakhmut and may discard the Wagner Group after capturing Bakhmut so conventional Russian units can continue to attack. At the same time, Pligozhin did not give his assessment of the probability of success of future Russian offensive operations outside Bakhmut. The ISW notes that it has found no indication that the Russian military has well-equipped and trained reserve forces for an offensive beyond Bakhmut. Most Russian units in Donbas are already engaged in offensive operations including Russian airborne troops that joined the Russian offensive in Bakhmut in January 2023. ISW therefore continues to assess the Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine will soon reach its peak if the invaders capture Bakhmut as the Russian military does not have enough power or reinforcements needed to capture Bakhmut entirely.