Ukraine war: Inside the fight for the last streets of Bakhmut

[Social Media]

In a bunker just outside the city limits of Bakhmut, Ukraine's 77th Brigade direct artillery fire to support their infantry - their last line of defence on the western edge of the city.

Ukraine is still clinging to the last few streets here.

But the live video feed the artillery gunners watch intently, from a drone flying above the city, suggests that even if Russia can finally wrestle control, it would be little more than a pyrrhic victory.

The prize is now a crumpled, skeletal city - with hardly a building left unscathed, and with its entire population vanished.

The battle for the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut has been the longest and bloodiest of this war so far. Western officials estimate between 20,000 and 30,000 Russian troops have been killed or wounded here, while Ukraine's military has also paid a heavy price - and it still isn't over.

[DrJack54]

Perhaps off topic.

Been watching Netflix documentary called WW11 in colour.

Recommend that series.

 

One episode in particular was the battle for Leningrad.

Ironic bit of  reverse situation with megalomaniac Mr Putin being akin to Mr Adolf.

This time Russia being the invader 

[Danderman123]

There is a small counter-offensive on the souhern flank of the  city.

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4 hours ago, Danderman123 said:

There is a small counter-offensive on the souhern flank of the  city.

Video shows Russian soldiers fleeing Bakhmut outskirts, handing 3 square miles back to Ukrainian forces, Ukraine says

• Ukraine claims to have retaken a portion of Bakhmut, sharing footage of fleeing Russian soldiers.
• The video backs up a furious rant by a key Russian mercenary, who said that Russia had ceded ground.
• Exact figures — of land gains and soldier deaths — remain unclear as Russia clings on to most of the city.

https://www.businessinsider.com/video-russia-soldiers-flee-bakhmut-cede-ground-ukraine-prigozhin-2023-5

[Danderman123]

2 hours ago, placeholder said:

Video shows Russian soldiers fleeing Bakhmut outskirts, handing 3 square miles back to Ukrainian forces, Ukraine says

• Ukraine claims to have retaken a portion of Bakhmut, sharing footage of fleeing Russian soldiers.
• The video backs up a furious rant by a key Russian mercenary, who said that Russia had ceded ground.
• Exact figures — of land gains and soldier deaths — remain unclear as Russia clings on to most of the city.

https://www.businessinsider.com/video-russia-soldiers-flee-bakhmut-cede-ground-ukraine-prigozhin-2023-5

The fleeing took place in some fields southwest of the city.

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Just now, Danderman123 said:

The fleeing took place in some fields southwest of the city.

And who now holds the space formerly held by those Russians? I don't think the Ukrainians are likely to have let them remain vacant.

[placeholder]

The only agency reporting on this is Reuters which we can't link to. But the essence of the story is that the Wagner chief says that defense on their flanks is bad and all the territory they gained in all those months is now being lost.

[asf6]

"The besieged eastern city is a crumpled, skeletal wreck. But Ukraine knows losing it could be costly"

 

In manpower terms, I'm sure the battle for Bakhmut will be costly for both sides. 

[Danderman123]

7 hours ago, placeholder said:

The only agency reporting on this is Reuters which we can't link to. But the essence of the story is that the Wagner chief says that defense on their flanks is bad and all the territory they gained in all those months is now being lost.

There definitely was a small Ukrainian advance south of Bakhmut a couple of days ago, as they pushed the 72nd Brigade of the Russian 3rd Army. But this was well south of Bakhmut.

 

There are new reports of encirclement activity around Bakhmut now.

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1 hour ago, Danderman123 said:

There definitely was a small Ukrainian advance south of Bakhmut a couple of days ago, as they pushed the 72nd Brigade of the Russian 3rd Army. But this was well south of Bakhmut.

 

There are new reports of encirclement activity around Bakhmut now.

Strange. I did a search for reports of encirclement activity subsequent to that Russian retreat. The only report about encirclement that I could find was this:

 

Prigozhin warns of risk of encirclement of Wagnerites in Bakhmut

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/prigozhin-warns-risk-encirclement-wagnerites-152732892.html

[Danderman123]

15 minutes ago, placeholder said:

Strange. I did a search for reports of encirclement activity subsequent to that Russian retreat. The only report about encirclement that I could find was this:

 

Prigozhin warns of risk of encirclement of Wagnerites in Bakhmut

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/prigozhin-warns-risk-encirclement-wagnerites-152732892.html

There are quite a few Twitter reports of Ukrainian advances, but it is too early to know if they are real.

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Just now, Danderman123 said:

There are quite a few Twitter reports of Ukrainian advances, but it is too early to know if they are real.

 Care to share  links to a few of those reports?

[Danderman123]

41 minutes ago, placeholder said:

 Care to share  links to a few of those reports?

 

 

[placeholder]

2 minutes ago, Danderman123 said:

 

 

So we agree. There are recent reports of Ukrainian advances and encirclement but none claiming the same for Russian forces.

[rabas]

6 hours ago, Danderman123 said:

There are quite a few Twitter reports of Ukrainian advances, but it is too early to know if they are real.

It seems to continue, 2 kilometers is not a small advance but they don't specify exactly where in Bakhmut. From NEXTA TV twitter posted 33 min before this AN post.

 

 

 

 

[onthedarkside]

UPDATE: Ukraine claims gains in Bakhmut after Russia denials

 

Ukraine says it has recaptured ground in Bakhmut, a rare advance after months of grinding Russian gains in the eastern city.

 

Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar said Ukrainian forces advanced two kilometres (1.2 miles) in a week.

 

The claims signal a momentum shift in Bakhmut - but more widely, there is no clear evidence of the much-anticipated Ukrainian counter-offensive.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65567143

 

 

 

[Bkk Brian]

Tweet from Chief Foreign-Affairs Correspondent of The Wall Street Journal

 

Russian MOD confirms that Russian troops redeployed to “more advantageous defensive positions” along the Berkhivka reservoir north of Bakhmut — or, in plain English, retreated by several km.

https://twitter.com/yarotrof/status/1656970691227549696

 

[Danderman123]

The Ukrainian advance was south of Bakhmut, not in the city itself.

[Bkk Brian]

CNN’s Nic Robertson interview 4 Ukrainian commanders who took part in the recent, successful counterattacks on the outskirts of Bakhmut. They say that improved weather, combined with the arrival of Western infantry fighting vehicles, is what made it possible for them to advance.

 

 

[Bkk Brian]

More gains..............

 

Frontline report: Ukraine liberates 17.5 km² near Bakhmut, unblocks supply route

On 12 May, there was a lot of good news from the Bakhmut direction. Here, Ukrainians leveraged their newly gained territories on Bakhmut’s northern flank and increased the scale of the operation even more.

 

After Ukrainians saw how Russian troops from the 9th Motorized Rifle Brigade started to abandon their positions, it was decided to maintain the momentum and push along the lake. Due to the problems with communication, some Russian detachments did not understand what was going on and still defended their trenches in front of the Khromove road, even though they were already virtually surrounded. 

 

https://euromaidanpress.com/2023/05/13/frontline-report-ukraine-liberates-17-5-km²-near-bakhmut-unblocks-supply-route/