until the latest supply of U.S. weaponry is in place and training has been provided, a senior Biden administration official said on Friday. The official, speaking to a small group of reporters on condition of anonymity, said the United States was holding fast to its decision not to provide Abrams tanks to Ukraine at this time, amid a controversy with Germany over tanks.
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The message from the Americans was that Ukraine had spent considerable resources defending the city of Bakhmut but that there is a high potential that the Russians will eventually push the Ukrainians out of that town, the official said. If that happens, it will not result in any strategic shift on the battlefield, the official said.

One consideration for the Ukrainians, the official said, is how much they continue to pour into defending Bakhmut at a time when they are preparing for an offensive to try to drive the Russians out of areas they hold in southern Ukraine.

U.S. officials are working with the Ukrainians on this trade[-]off, the official said.
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[...]
Q Thank you, Karine. John, I have two questions. First one on Wagner. What's your assessment on Wagner efficiencies? Success on the ground -- is Wagner better than the traditional Russian forces?
MR. KIRBY: Well, Wagner would have you believe that. If you listen to Mr. Prigozhin and read his press releases, he would have you believe that he alone is achieving all the military victory in -- in Ukraine. I will say this: They have -- they have been largely in -- responsible for and in command of efforts in Bakhmut and that town north of Bakhmut, called Soledar.
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The last thing I'll say on this is -- and I don't want to predict where it's going to go -- but even if they are successful in Bakhmut or Soledar, it's not going to strategically change the dynamics on the battlefield.  It's not going to set the Ukrainians back to a degree where they're all of a sudden on their back foot and they're losing.
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