![]() ĭuring the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a key Russian goal was to capture the Donbas region, consisting of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. The separatists were expelled to the city's outskirts where clashes continued until July 2014, when they finally retreated from the area. Pro-Russian separatists had captured parts of the city during the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine in April, and a Ukrainian special forces unit together with the National Guard were dispatched to expel the separatists from the city. īakhmut, formerly known as Artemivsk, was the site of the 2014 Battle of Artemivsk between Ukraine and the self-declared separatist Donetsk People's Republic. The city has been under shelling since May 2022. Main article: Battle of Donbas (2022–present) An apartment block in Bakhmut after a Russian shelling. The intensity of the battle and the high number of casualties has been compared to the Battle of Verdun in World War I, as well as to the fighting in World War II. The battle of Bakhmut has been described as a "meat grinder" and a "vortex" for both the Ukrainian and Russian militaries. Īlthough initially a target with lesser tactical importance, Bakhmut became one of the central battles of the Russo-Ukrainian War due the heavy investment of manpower and resources both sides used to control the city. Around the same time on 25 May, Wagner began withdrawing from the city to be replaced by regular Russian troops, amidst heavy internal squabbles between Wagner leadership and Russian high command. Nonetheless, Ukraine started counterattacks on Russia's flanks, seeking to encircle the city. On, Bakhmut had been mostly captured by Russian forces, with the Ukrainian military controlling only a small strip of the city proper along the T0504 highway. By March 2023, Russian forces captured the eastern half of the city, up to the Bakhmutka river, and continued to advance into Ukrainian-controlled parts of Bakhmut. By using repeated assaults composed of former convicts, Wagner troops were able to gradually gain ground, and by February 2023, they captured territory in the north and south of Bakhmut and threatened encirclement, forcing Ukrainian forces to slowly pull out into the city, and the battle turned into fierce urban warfare. By this time, much of the front line had descended into positional trench warfare, with both sides suffering high casualties without any significant advances. ![]() 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. Īs of late 2022, following Ukraine's Kharkiv and Kherson counteroffensives, the Bakhmut– Soledar front became an important focus of the war, being one of the few front lines in Ukraine where Russia remained on the offensive. The main assault force primarily consisted of mercenaries from the Russian paramilitary organization Wagner Group, supported by regular Russian troops and reportedly Donetsk People's Republic militia elements. While the shelling of Bakhmut began in May 2022, the main assault towards the city started on 1Īugust after Russian forces advanced from the direction of Popasna following a Ukrainian withdrawal from that front. The battle of Bakhmut is a series of military engagements in and near the city of Bakhmut between the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the Russian Armed Forces during the larger battle for Donbas. ![]()
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