( ) https://youtu.be/xRjnbACvsXs
Battle of Bakhmut 2022
Battle of Bakhmut | |||||||
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Part of the eastern Ukraine offensive's Battle of Donbas in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine | |||||||
No man's land in the outskirts of Bakhmut | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Aleksey Nagin †[1] | Oleksandr Tarnavskiy[2] Yurii Bereza[3] | ||||||
Units involved | |||||||
Russian Armed Forces Donetsk People's Militia[4] PMC Wagner[5] | |||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Unknown, presumed heavy | Unknown, presumed heavy | ||||||
120+ civilians killed[10] |
The Battle of Bakhmut is an ongoing series of military engagements near the city of Bakhmut between Ukrainian Armed Forces and the Russian Armed Forces during the battle for Donbas in 2022. Shelling of Bakhmut began in May 2022, but the main assault towards the city began on 1 August after Ukrainian forces withdrew from Popasna.[11] The main assault force was primarily formed by mercenaries from the Russian paramilitary organization Wagner Group.[12][5]
Attacks on the city intensified in November 2022 as assaulting Russian forces were reinforced by units redeployed from the Kherson front, together with newly mobilized recruits.[13][14] As of late 2022, The Bakhmut front was one of the few places where Russia remained on the offensive.[15] By this time, much of the front line had descended into fierce trench warfare, with both sides suffering high casualties without any significant advances.[16]
Prelude
During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, a key Russian goal was to capture the Donbas region, consisting of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. Following the battles of Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk in early July, Russia and separatist forces captured all of Luhansk oblast, and the battlefield shifted towards the cities of Sloviansk, Bakhmut, and Soledar. Prior to the battle in Bakhmut, Ukrainian Brigadier General Oleksandr Tarnavskiy claimed that Russia held a five-to-one manpower advantage over Ukraine along the eastern front.[18]
Starting on May 17, Russian forces began shelling Bakhmut, killing five people including a two-year-old child.[19][20] After the fall of Popasna on May 22, Ukrainian forces withdrew away from the city to reinforce positions at Bakhmut.[11] Meanwhile, Russian forces managed to advance on the Bakhmut-Lysychansk highway, endangering the remaining Ukrainian troops in the Lysychansk-Sievierodonetsk area.[21][22] The Russian checkpoint along the highway was later demolished, although fighting resumed on May 30 along the Kostiantynivka-Bakhmut highway, where Ukrainian forces successfully defended the highway.[23][24]
Shelling of Bakhmut continued throughout the rest of June and July, escalating after the battle of Siversk began on July 3.[25] On July 25, Ukrainian forces withdrew from the Vuhlehirska Power Station, along with the nearby town of Novoluhanske, giving Russian and separatist forces a "small tactical advantage" towards Bakhmut.[26] Two days later on July 27, Russian shelling of Bakhmut killed three civilians and wounded three more.[27][28]
Battle
On 1 August, Russian forces launched massive ground attacks on settlements south and southeast of Bakhmut. Both the Russian Ministry of Defense and pro-Russian Telegram pages claimed that the battle of Bakhmut had begun.[29][30] The following day, Ukraine reported that Russian forces had ramped up airstrikes and shelling of the city, beginning a ground attack on the southeastern part of the city.[31] Bombardment continued through 3 August.[32] On 4 August, Wagner Group mercenaries managed to break through Ukrainian defenses and reach Patrice Lumumba street, on the eastern outskirts of Bakhmut.[33]
On 10 August, Russian forces bombarded the central part of the city, killing seven civilians and injuring six more. Many buildings were damaged in the strike. In the following days, Russian forces continued to push towards Bakhmut from the south, with the Ukrainian general staff stating on 14 August that Russian forces had achieved "partial success" near Bakhmut but offering no specifics.[34]
On 20 September, Aleksey Nagin, a commander in the Wagner Group, was killed near Bakhmut.[35] Wagner Group forces on the frontlines in Bakhmut are also being bolstered by prisoners from Russia and allied breakaway states.[36]
Night shelling in the city center on September 21 burned the Martynov Palace of Culture, where the humanitarian headquarters worked. During the extinguishing of the fire, the local fire department was shelled, which reported that two SES staff were injured and equipment damaged.[37] At night, a five-story building was partially destroyed by Russian shelling.[38][39]
On 7 October, Russian forces advanced into the villages of Zaitseve and Opytne on the southern and southeastern outskirts of Bakhmut, while on 10 October, the UK Defence Ministry claimed that Russian troops advanced closer to Bakhmut.[40][41] On 12 October, Russian forces claimed to have captured Opytne and Ivanhrad, although these towns were still contested.[42].Ukrainian sources said a minor counteroffensive on October 24 pushed Russian forces from some factories on the eastern outskirts of the city.[43]
On 1 November, Ukrainian journalist Yurii Butusov described the evolving nature of the battle in an interview. Butusov noted that Russian forces had suffered "huge losses every day" assaulting Bakhmut and its outskirts since early May, but insisted that they were adapting their tactics against increasingly exhausted Ukrainian defenders. He noted that the Russians were concentrating multiple small groups of infantry to break defense lines on "narrow" sections of the front.[44]
On 10 November, the Ukrainians claimed that the Wagner group had suffered nearly 140 casualties in the last 24 hours, including over 40 men killed, in fighting near Bakhmut.[45] On 27 November, The New York Times reported a high level of casualties for both armies, also placing the number of Ukrainian wounded at 290 in the previous 36 hours.[46] The fighting around Bakhmut had reportedly descended into trench warfare conditions, with neither side making any significant breakthroughs and hundreds of casualties reported daily amid fierce shelling and artillery duels.[47][16]
Russian forces breached defense lines south of Bakhmut in late November, advancing in Opytne through November 28 and 29, beginning a minor offensive to the south of Bakhmut and capturing the villages of Andriivka, Ozarianivka, and Zelenopillia.[48][49] Wagner troops attacked Kurdyumivka, adjacent to Ozarianivka, with some Russian milbloggers claiming the settlement was captured.[50] Russian forces also attacked Ukrainian positions southeast of Bakhmut.[51][52] On 3 December, Serhii Cherevatyi, a spokesperson for Ukraine's Eastern Command, described the Bakhmut front as "the most bloody, cruel and brutal sector ... in the Russian-Ukrainian war so far," adding that the Russians had "conducted 261 attacks with artillery of various calibers in the past 24 hours alone."[53] The same day, a Georgia military volunteer told the media that a group of Georgian volunteers had been surrounded during clashes near Bakhmut. The commander was wounded and five or six volunteers, serving in Ukraine's 57th Brigade, had been killed, prompting Georgian president Salome Zourabichvili to express condolences.[8]
Analysis
The Battle of Bakhmut has been described as one of the bloodiest battles of the 21st century, with the battlefield being described as a "vortex" for both the Ukrainian and Russian militaries.[54] With extremely high casualties, very little ground gained, and shell-pocked landscapes, Western media and the United States government have compared fighting in Bakhmut like nothing seen since World War I.[55][56][57]
The actual strategic value of Bakhmut has been considered dubious by many analysts. After the Kharkiv counteroffensive and the Liberation of Kherson, the Bakhmut area remained one of the few areas where Russia was on the offensive as of late 2022. Many analysts believe the main drive is that the Wagner Group was likely assigned the job of capturing Bakhmut by the Kremlin, and it would could bring significant monetary and political rewards for its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.[15]
Russian assault forces have primarily composed of Wagner PMC mercenaries and newly mobilized recruits. In mid-November, there were some reports that Russia may have redeployed some forces from the Kherson front to areas near Bakhmut in support of Wagner Group fighters, as well as reinforcements from newly conscripted forces, following the Russian withdrawal from Kherson. The Ukrainians were reportedly also reinforcing Bakhmut, including special forces and territorial defense units.[14][47]
Russia has targeted Bakhmut with Iranian made drones after 450 of them were sent to Russia in mid-October.[58]
References
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Russian milbloggers reiterated claims that Russian forces advanced southwest of Bakhmut, taking Andriivka, Ozarianivka, and Zelenopillia (13km south of Bakhmut)
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A Russian milblogger also claimed that Russian forces made progress in Opytne (4km south of Bakhmut) and began a ground attack on Klishchiivka (7km southwest of Bakhmut) on November 29
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Russian forces continued to make limited gains around Bakhmut amid reports of heavy fighting in the area on November 29. Geolocated footage posted on November 29 shows that Russian forces advanced on the southeastern outskirts of Bakhmut.
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