Okay let me give you an analogy

Imagine a super elite boxer like prime Muhammad Ali vs an amateur high school athlete boxer

Ali should be able to knock out the high school boxer in round 1, right? Well, Ali defeated the highchool kid, but it took him 12 rounds, plus he wasnt able to knock the kid out. You can say that even though the highschool kid lost, Ali was still very incompetent, because what should've been an easy win for him dragged out to 12 rounds

Same thing for Russia and Ukraine here. Ukraine is losing in Bakhmut, yes, but the Russian army is supposed to be elite and superior, so it shouldn't take them "12 rounds" just to defeat Ukraine in Bakhmut

Even if Russia wins in Bakhmut, it's still incredibly devastating for them because they're losing so many soldiers just to squeeze out a small victory