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The city of Bakhmut has been at the center of fighting in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region for months, and has been one of the longest and deadliest battles of the war.
Here’s how the battle unfolded:
Summer 2022
When two Ukrainian towns in eastern Ukraine’s Luhansk region fell to Russian forces in quick succession last summer, Bakhmut, a town about 30 miles to the southwest, became the next target of Russia’s campaign to secure all of Donbas.
Bakhmut has been a supply hub for Ukrainian fighters in two Luhansk towns – Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk – and has been repeatedly sacked by Russian forces, forcing much of Bakhmut’s estimated 70,000 population to flee. However, at the time, few expected the city, which was also the scene of fierce fighting in 2014, to be the longest-running battle of the war.
Fall 2022
The Russian attack on Bakhmut relied on tactics used in previous battles: using artillery and trying to capture neighboring towns and villages before moving on to the town itself.
At the same time, Moscow, which holds most of the territory east of the city, cut off the supply route to Bakhmut used by Ukrainian forces. Removing that access would force Ukrainian forces to retreat to avoid encirclement.
In the fall, both sides fought at close range, and attacks on the city increased.
December 2022
In a national address, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine accused Russia of turning Bakhmut into “burnt ruins.” Among Ukrainians, the words “stop Bakhmut” became a rallying cry, and the city’s defense became a national symbol of resistance.
January 2023
Russian troops captured the village of Klishchiivka, south of Bakhmut. Ukrainian forces are considered to be the key to the defense of Bakhmut because the village is located on the eastern side of the road in the eastern part of the city which is very important for supplying the forces defending the city.
Ukrainian forces withdrew from the town of Soledar, northeast of Bakhmut, allowing Russian troops to tighten their grip near the town. The Russians then claimed to have captured several villages near Soledar, further jeopardizing the supply route to Bakhmut.
February 2023
The situation has become increasingly difficult for the Ukrainians, with key supply routes – what the generals call their “last gash” – increasingly under attack from Russian forces. A US intelligence assessment from the time, leaked online in April, said that by February 25, Ukrainian forces in the city were “almost operationally surrounded.”
Mr. Zelensky told Ukrainians that “the situation is getting more difficult,” and the Ukrainian military barred aid workers and other civilians from entering Bakhmut for safety reasons, a decision seen as a prelude to his withdrawal.
But Ukraine sent in reinforcements, including various elite units, and managed to push Russian troops back far enough to allow the resupply of soldiers in the city and the evacuation of the wounded.
March 2023
The commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrsky, twice visited soldiers in Bakhmut and said that Russia was putting “the most ready units” into the war.
Wagner’s mercenary forces, who helped lead the Russian assault on the city, took control of most of eastern Bakhmut, leaving the Bakhmutka River, which runs north to south through the center of the city, as the new front line. Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner group, said: “The clamps are closed.”
April 2023
In fierce urban fighting, Ukrainian forces defended a western pocket of the city that was only 20 blocks wide, steadily shrinking and constantly pounded by artillery.
Russia is stepping up its assault on Bakhmut with artillery and airstrikes, Ukraine said, even as Kyiv forces struggle to keep key roads west of the city, the last major resupply and evacuation route.
May 2023
Mr Prigozhin threatened to withdraw from Bakhmut on May 10 due to a lack of support from the Russian Defense Ministry, but appeared to back down two days later saying he had been promised as much ammunition and weapons as he needed to continue the fight.
By mid-May, Ukrainian forces were able to capture some areas north and south of Bakhmut even as Russian forces continued to attack the city’s borders.
On Saturday, Mr Prigozhin claimed the city was under Wagner’s control – a claim Ukrainian officials quickly rejected.
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