Battle of Bakhmut

The Battle of Bakhmut is an ongoing series of battles in and near the city of Bakhmut. It is being fought between the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the Russian Armed Forces. It is part of the Battle of Donbas. Shelling of Bakhmut started in May 2022. The main attack on the city started on 1 August. It started after Russian soldiers moved in from Popasna after the Ukrainians left the city. The main attack force is mostly made of mercenaries from the Russian paramilitary organization Wagner Group. The attack force also has regular Russian troops and DPR and LPR separatist soldiers.
As of late 2022, the Bakhmut front became the center of the war. It is one of the few front lines in Ukraine where Russia stayed on the attack. Attacks on the city grew stronger in November 2022. Attacking Russian forces were made stronger by units from the Kherson front and newly mobilized recruits. By this time, much of the fighting on the front line became trench warfare. Both sides have taken many casualties.
Background
Bakhmut was where the 2014 battle of Artemivsk was fought. This battle was fought between Ukraine and the separatist Donetsk People's Republic. Pro-Russian separatists had taken parts of the city during the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine. A Ukrainian special forces unit and the National Guard were sent to get rid of the separatists from the city. The separatists were sent to the city's outskirts. Small battles continued until July 2014, when the separatists retreated from the area.
During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, a main Russian goal was to take the Donbas region. This region is made of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. The first attack to Bakhmut was done to encircle the Ukrainian soldiers at the Sievierodonetsk-Lysychansk salient. With another push from the Lyman direction, this would create a pocket and trap Ukrainian forces there. After the battles of Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk in early July, Russian and separatist forces took all of Luhansk Oblast. The battlefield turned towards the cities of Sloviansk, Bakhmut, and Soledar.
Starting on 17 May, Russian forces began bombarding Bakhmut. This killed five people including a two-year-old child. After the fall of Popasna on 22 May, Ukrainian forces left the city to help soldiers at Bakhmut. Meanwhile, Russian forces moved forward on the Bakhmut-Lysychansk highway. This put the remaining Ukrainian troops in the Lysychansk-Sievierodonetsk area in danger. The Russian checkpoint on the highway was later destroyed. Fighting continued on 30 May on the Kostiantynivka-Bakhmut highway. Ukrainian forces were able to defend the highway.
Bombardment of Bakhmut continued throughout the rest of June and July. On 25 July, Ukrainian forces left the Vuhlehirska Power Station and the nearby town of Novoluhanske. Two days later on 27 July, Russian bombardment of Bakhmut killed three civilians and wounded three more.
Battle
August-October 2022
On 1 August, Russian forces attacked many settlements south and southeast of Bakhmut. Both the Russian Ministry of Defense and pro-Russian Telegram pages said that the battle of Bakhmut had started. The next day, Ukraine said that Russian soldiers had increased airstrikes and bombardment of Bakhmut. They started a ground attack on the southeastern part of the city. On 4 August, Wagner Group mercenaries got through Ukrainian defenses. They got to Patrice Lumumba Street on the eastern outskirts of Bakhmut. Russian forces continued to move towards Bakhmut from the south. The Ukrainian general staff said on 14 August that Russian forces had "partial success" near Bakhmut.
Night bombardment in the city center on 21 September burned the Martynov Palace of Culture. This was where the humanitarian headquarters was. The local fire department was also bombarded as they put out the fire. It reported that two SES staff were injured and equipment was damaged. At night, a five-story building was damaged by Russian bombardment. A Russian missile strike destroyed the main bridge across the Bakhmutka river on 22 September. This delayed civilian travel and Ukrainian military logistics.
On 7 October, Russian forces moved into the villages of Zaitseve and Opytne on the southern and southeastern outskirts of Bakhmut. On 10 October, the UK Defence Ministry said that Russian soldiers moved closer to Bakhmut. On 12 October, Russian soldiers said that they took Opytne and Ivanhrad, although these towns were still contested. Ukrainian sources said a minor counteroffensive on 24 October moved Russian forces from some factories on the eastern outskirts of the city.
November 2022-present
By early November, much of the fighting near Bakhmut had became trench warfare. Neither side was able to move very far and hundreds of casualties were reported daily.
Russian soldiers captured the villages of Andriivka, Ozarianivka, and Zelenopillia. They moved forward through Opytne from 28-29 November. Wagner Group soldiers attacked Kurdyumivka, next to Ozarianivka. Russian soldiers also attacked Ukrainian soldiers southeast of Bakhmut. The same day, a Georgia military volunteer told the media that a group of Georgian volunteers had been surrounded during fighting near Bakhmut. The commander was wounded and five or six volunteers had been killed. On 6-7 December, the Russian defense ministry said that their soldiers had defeated Ukrainian counterattacks south of Bakhmut. The commander of the Ukraine National Guard's Svoboda Battalion said they were "fighting for every bush" and predicted Russia would struggle to go past a canal above and behind Kudriumivka.
On 9 December, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia was "destroying" Bakhmut. He called Bakhmut "another Donbas city that the Russian army turned into burnt ruins." Former soldier and eyewitness to the battle Petro Stone said the Bakhmut front is a "meat grinder".
Attack on Zabakhmutka district
On 11-13 December, Russian sources said that Wagner Group soldiers had broke through defenses in east Bakhmut. They took the northern part of Fyodor Maksimenko Street in Zabakhmutka district. They moved along Patrice Lumumba Street in Bakhmut's industrial zone. They took the Siniat ALC factory and sparkling wine/"artwinery" factory. Wagner took Pidhorodne and made small moves towards Bakhmut from the south. On 11 December a railway bridge over the E40 (M-03) highway north of Bakhmut was destroyed. The Russians said the Ukrainians destroyed it to stop or delay future Russian moves towards Sloviansk.
By 13 December, Russian sources said that urban fighting had started in the eastern and southeastern parts of Bakhmut. They also said that 90% of Opytne had been taken. The Ukrainian General Staff said that they defeated Russian attacks northeast and south of Bakhmut from Soledar and Kurdiumivka, respectively. On 17 December, footage emerged online of trenches in Bakhmut's city center, indicating Ukrainian defenders were preparing for urban combat. On 18-19 December, Ukrainian forces counter-attacked on Fyodor Maksimenko Street and pushed Wagner Group soldiers back to the eastern outskirts of the suburban area. Soldiers on the ground were supported by Wolfhound (picture) armored personnel carriers; Those vehicles are a gift from Great Britain.
Ukrainian authorities said that they pushed back "five to seven" Russian attacks near Bakhmut daily.
On 20-21 December, President Zelenskyy made a visit to the Bakhmut front. There he met with soldiers, gave out medals, and gave speeches. Meanwhile, bombardment and fighting on Bakhmut's outskirts continued. Russian forces kept trying to break Ukrainian positions on the city's flanks. On 26 December, Governor of Donetsk Oblast Pavlo Kyrylenko said over 60 percent of Bakhmut's infrastructure was damaged or destroyed.