The unrelenting fight to hold Bakhmut
Why were the Russians so keen to capture the city, and what is the significance of their (perhaps temporary) victory?
Russia and Ukraine have been engaged in a back-and-forth fight over the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, as Kyiv has looked to repeal Russian control of the now-battered city. While Russian officials have long held that the complete capture of the city could be a key victory, Ukraine and its American allies have placed less emphasis on Bakhmut's potential fall.
What is the situation in Bakhmut?
Located in Ukraine's northeast Donetsk region, Bakhmut has been one of the epicenters of fighting ever since the Russo-Ukrainian war first began, and is currently occupied by invading Russian forces. The city is just over 120 miles from the Russian border and was home to more than 70,000 people prior to the conflict. While it is unclear how many civilians remain, most estimates place that figure anywhere from 4,000 to 10,000.
Intense fighting in Bakhmut (which is partly a result of its close proximity to Russia) began ramping up at the end of 2022. Ukraine was initially able to hold off the majority of invading Russian forces, but with resources dwindling, the Russian army began "attacking Bakhmut from three directions in a persistent attempt to encircle Ukrainian troops," The New York Times reported.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at the end of last year that Russia had "actually destroyed Bakhmut" and "turned [it] into burnt ruins." After additional months of fighting, Bakhmut "had been effectively occupied by Russian troops" by May 2023, according to the Kyiv Independent. Russia began operations soon afterward to begin driving the remaining Ukrainian forces from the area. By the end of that month, Ukrainians had evacuated all but an "insignificant" portion of the city.
But Ukraine didn't intend on retreating quietly and has been implementing a counteroffensive to regain portions of the city ever since. By August 2023, Ukrainian soldiers were "on the advance on the outskirts of the city," The Guardian reported. However, Ukrainian officials also acknowledged that pushback against Russia "has been slow" and that forces "had gained only a clutch of land" near Bakhmut.
Why was Russia so keen to capture the city?
A large part of it is symbolic. The desire to overtake Bakhmut "reflects [Russian President] Vladimir Putin's long-held aim of capturing Ukraine's eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, collectively known as the Donbas," Time noted. Ukrainian lawmaker Yehor Cherniev told Time that while Bakhmut may not be a strategically important city for Russia, the Kremlin will still "try to hold it as long as possible," more as a show of force than anything else.
The fight over Bakhmut has "come to symbolize the grinding war of attrition in Ukraine," The Washington Post reported. While the Post concurs that Bakhmut has little strategic value, "the relentless, intensifying fight for control of the city ... has made it a rallying cry and political battleground for both sides."
However, one faction that did see strategic value in taking Bakhmut was the Wagner Group, described by ABC News as "a private military organization run by an ally of Russian leader Vladimir Putin with tens of thousands of fighters." However, the Wagner Group's presence in Bakhmut, at one time extremely strong, began to dwindle soon after the fighting began. Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin — who would eventually break with Putin and lead a rebellion attempt against Russian forces — said in May 2023 that his troops had withdrawn from the city and handed control to Russia.
What is the significance of Bakhmut's capture?
From the outset of the war, the Russians were unsurprisingly eager to raise their flag over Bakhmut, given the symbolic win it would represent. But Russia also seemed to believe that the capture of the city would have a series of ripple effects. Moscow thought that "capturing the city would be a step towards its major objective of seizing the full territory of the surrounding Donbas region," Reuters noted.
Meanwhile, Ukraine and its Western allies have responded to the capture of Bakhmut with a more muted take. Prior to the city's fall, Mick Ryan, a former Australian general, told CNN that the capture of Bakhmut wouldn't be the death blow Russia hoped for. "[A Ukrainian retreat] should be treated as a routine tactic rather than a harbinger of disaster," he said.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin had a similar view of the Russian advancement, playing down what it actually means in terms of the war. A Ukrainian withdrawal would not "[change] the tide of this fight," Austin told reporters, per The Financial Times. He added that Ukraine's departure from the city wouldn't be "an operational or strategic setback."
While capturing Bakhmut may have been important for Russia, the city's minimal strategic value has left a lot to be desired for the invading forces. Ukraine used Bakhmut to "inflict massive losses on the attacking force," CNN reported this past March, with heavy losses continuing throughout 2023. Despite Russian assertions that Ukraine's counteroffensive has failed, "it is now Moscow's troops who are on the defensive in this ravaged city," according to Euronews.
Updated Aug. 17, 2023: This article has been updated throughout with new information about Bakhmut.
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Justin Klawans has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022. He began his career covering local news before joining Newsweek as a breaking news reporter, where he wrote about politics, national and global affairs, business, crime, sports, film, television and other Hollywood news. Justin has also freelanced for outlets including Collider and United Press International.
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