Russia doesn’t wanna encircle bakhmut completely. They’re leaving Ukraine a way into the city so they can wipe out more of their numbers with artillery. That, naturally, COULD take several months.
In such a scenario, it’s not up to the attackers how long it takes to take the city. It depends on how many defenders Ukraine wants to spend holding on to it.
Russia is going to continue killing them until they stop coming
It's so glaringly obvious. Further, this is what China and Russia are doing with Ukraine... using it to suck the West dry.
We are the stupidest people on earth right now.