Russian Strikes Against Bakhmut Grow Fiercer, Ukraine Says

KYIV, Ukraine – Russia has pounded Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine ever more fiercely with aerial strikes and artillery strikes, but Ukrainian forces remain in control of the embattled city, the commander of Kyiv’s ground forces, General Oleksandr Syrsky, said Tuesday.

“The Bakhmut sector remains the center of the fighting,” General Syrsky said on the Telegram messaging app, referring to wider fighting in the country’s east.

“This is where the enemy concentrated most of their efforts and determined to take control of the city at any cost,” he said. “Now, the enemy is increasing the activity of heavy artillery and the number of airstrikes, turning the city into ruins.”

He also said that Moscow attacked Bakhmut from many directions simultaneously.

Russian forces have been steadily advancing on Bakhmut in months of bloody fighting, and Ukrainian forces are now defending parts of the western part of the city. Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Monday that invasion forces had captured two more areas in the south and west of the city, although it could not independently confirm the claim.

Russia launched an offensive in Bakhmut last summer, and has participated in some of the heaviest and most protracted battles of the invasion. Both sides have suffered heavy casualties, although military experts and Ukrainian officials say Russian losses are higher.

The city, which had about 70,000 inhabitants before the war, only a few thousand people fled. If Russian forces capture all of Bakhmut, it would mark the first seizure of the city in months, amid setbacks elsewhere in their efforts to push into eastern Ukraine.

Most experts say the struggle for Bakhmut was important because of the longevity of the war and the loss of life on each side, rather than because of its intrinsic military value. Capture of Bakhmut has become a byword for Ukraine’s resistance to Russian aggression, as Moscow seeks a victory to celebrate both domestically and beyond its territory in eastern Ukraine.

At the same time, months of fighting for the small town illustrate how difficult it will be for either side to win total control of the region, which has been at war since 2014 and both sides have dug up significant defenses.