As the encirclement closed in an [[AFU]] forces in early March 2023, the Russian forces allowed untrained, conscripted 16-year-olds and elderly men pressed into service by the [[Zelensky regime]] to escape without being killed or captured via the last remaining escape route out of Bakhmut.<ref>https://youtu.be/NmzuuWMsm1k</ref> 10,000 Ukrainian troops were said to be trapped in the cauldron.<ref>[https://youtu.be/zg6HpuW8OYU Russia Claims Bakhmut Cauldron 10k Troops Trapped; West Media Admits Ukraine Losses, Blames Zelensky], Alexander Mercouris, March 6, 2023.</ref> | As the encirclement closed in an [[AFU]] forces in early March 2023, the Russian forces allowed untrained, conscripted 16-year-olds and elderly men pressed into service by the [[Zelensky regime]] to escape without being killed or captured via the last remaining escape route out of Bakhmut.<ref>https://youtu.be/NmzuuWMsm1k</ref> 10,000 Ukrainian troops were said to be trapped in the cauldron.<ref>[https://youtu.be/zg6HpuW8OYU Russia Claims Bakhmut Cauldron 10k Troops Trapped; West Media Admits Ukraine Losses, Blames Zelensky], Alexander Mercouris, March 6, 2023.</ref> |