If Russian troops capture Bakhmut, it will be the maximum point of their attack in eastern Ukraine, as they have no combat reserves to go beyond it. Such a conclusion is contained in another analytical review of the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
According to experts, the statement of the owner of Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, that his mercenaries have captured the whole of Eastern Bakhmut is consistent with the available visual evidence, and now at least half of the city is under the control of the Wagners. At the same time, the ISW notes that there is no indication that the Russian military has a well-equipped and trained reserve to move beyond Bakhmut.
