The US government, through US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, has stated that the fate of Bakhmut will be determined by Zelensky, as we read in Radio1:

Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky should decide for himself how to deal with Artyomovsk. This was stated by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

According to him, the loss of the city will not mean the loss of Ukraine in the confrontation with Russia. He noted that Zelensky needs to decide on his own what is more important for the Ukrainian military than the current stage of the conflict.

Austin is sure that if Zelensky decides to withdraw troops from the territory of Artemovsk, then there were reasons for this.