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I think Ukraine is trying to withdraw. Wagner's use of massed, small sized, unsupported, untrained infantry attacks is getting in the way and getting lots of Wagner forces killed.

If Wagner would either let Ukraine leave or get more artillery and armored support, then they could take the town faster. Instead Prigozhin's operations are making it easy for Ukraine to kill his men as they withdraw.

I'm just not saying that to make Ukraine look good and Wagner look bad. How Prigozhin is taking Bakhmut is really stupid.

Wagner's use of massed, small sized, unsupported, untrained infantry attacks is getting in the way and getting lots of Wagner forces killed.

The Wagner group, not the regular Russian military, is kicking the Ukrainian army's ass:

https://kyivindependent.com/national/ukrainian-soldiers-in-bakhmut-our-troops-are-not-being-protected

They say that Russian artillery, infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers are often allowed to strike Ukrainian positions for hours or days without being shut down by Ukrainian heavy weapons. Some complained of poor coordination and situational awareness, allowing this to happen or making it even worse.

Mortarmen spoke of extreme ammunition scarcity and having to use weapons dating back to World War II. Drones that are supposed to provide critical reconnaissance information are also scarce and are being lost at very high rates in some parts of the battlefield.

All this leads to terrifying casualties of both dead and wounded. "The battalion came in in the middle of December… between all the different platoons, there were 500 of us," says Borys, a combat medic from Odesa Oblast fighting around Bakhmut. "A month ago, there were literally 150 of us."

“When you go out to the position, it’s not even a 50/50 chance that you’ll come out of there (alive),” says the older Serhiy. “It’s more like 30/70.”