🇺🇦🇷🇺💥 Battle for Bakhmut in Ukraine

Where is Bakhmut located?

Bakhmut is located in eastern Ukraine.

What is the significance of Bakhmut in the context of the war in Ukraine?

- Bakhmut has little strategic significance, but both Moscow and Kyiv view the battle as vital for weakening the other. - Russia has declared victory in its nearly yearlong assault on Bakhmut, making it their first military success since last summer. - Ukraine has signaled that it is now focused on making it difficult for Moscow to hold onto the city. - Bakhmut became the scene of the war’s deadliest and most prolonged urban combat in Europe since World War II, with tens of thousands of casualties estimated on both sides. - Military analysts said that Russia's victory celebration may be brief, with Bakhmut potentially following the fate of other cities occupied by Russia only to be retaken by Ukraine.

What challenges do Russian forces face in holding onto Bakhmut?

• Russia now controls Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, but it is unclear whether they will be able to hold the decimated city amid a Ukrainian counterattack that has already begun.
• Moscow’s fighting forces are stretched thin after months of significant losses and riven by internal rivalries.
• Military analysts said that Russia's victory celebration may be brief, with Bakhmut potentially following the fate of other cities occupied by Russia only to be retaken by Ukraine.
• There are still a lot of Ukrainian forces on the outskirts, and Russia’s position in Ukraine is not particularly stable right now.

What were the experiences of Ukrainian soldiers during the battle for Bakhmut?

• A group of 16 draftees lost 11 who were killed or captured during the battle for Bakhmut.
• Pvt. Oleksiy Malkovskiy, an unemployed father of three, fired a rocket-propelled grenade for the first time in his life on the front lines of the battle for Bakhmut in February.

What are the potential implications of Russia's control of Bakhmut for the wider war in Ukraine?

• Russia has declared victory in its yearlong assault on Bakhmut, and its Wagner mercenaries have begun to withdraw.
• Ukraine, whose forces have made small gains on the outskirts, has signaled that it is now focused on making it difficult for Moscow to hold onto the city.
• Ukraine’s setback in Bakhmut is a significant moment in Russia’s invasion, its first military success since last summer.
• Military analysts say that Bakhmut holds little strategic significance, but Moscow and Kyiv have remained firm in their justifications for fighting there, each viewing the battle as vital for weakening the other.
• It is unclear that Moscow’s disjointed forces will be able to hold the decimated city amid a Ukrainian counterattack that has already begun.