the Russians advance towards Bakhmout, a ghost town

Bakhmout, ghost town. This industrial city has become the symbol of the struggle for control of Donbass. 70,000 inhabitants lived there before the war, there are only 5,000 today. Despite the threat hanging over them, some are determined to stay here. “We were born here, baptized here, raised here. Where would we go and who could send us away?”, wonders a resident. “My apartment is right there and I will die in my apartment or at the foot of my building”insists another.

Russian troops advance

Russian troops have been gaining ground in recent weeks. The Wagner militia attempt to break through the Ukrainian defenses and encircle the city. Three of the four roads which made it possible to supply Bakhmout are now cut off. In the basement of a residential building, a few Ukrainian soldiers are trying to rest between two assaults.