Intense fighting still opposes Russians and Ukrainians for control of this city in eastern Ukraine, where the longest and bloodiest battle since the beginning of the Russian invasion is taking place.
It is the longest and bloodiest battle since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. And despite the intense fighting between the military, the fate of Bakhmout, this city in eastern Ukraine, remains undecided.
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On the ground, the lines are moving. For a week, the Russians have controlled the eastern part of the small town, cut in two by the Bakhmoutka River, while the Ukrainians have held the western part, which includes the city center. However, the city of 70,000 inhabitants has no real military interest. Its only strategic interest is the battle itself: it is clearly a “battle of attrition”, a war of attrition, dear to the Russian army.
Commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces Oleksandr Syrsky assured that the Ukrainian soldiers “inflict significant losses on the enemy” in these confrontations. And the Ukrainian command admits it: it is a question here of inflicting a maximum of losses on the enemy. In a war of “attrition”, the adversary must be worn out.
How many deaths?
Wagner’s auxiliaries, who are maneuvering on the Russian side, are said to have lost nearly 10,000 men in six months, mainly prisoners recruited from prisons: ill-prepared troops, destined to be virtually sacrificed in an offensive of this kind. However, this human reservoir also has its limits. And it is now Wagner’s most seasoned men – professional soldiers – who are on the front line in Bakhmout. And in turn, they wear out and disappear in battle.
But on the Ukrainian side, we are also wearing out. The Kiev troops – mainly conscripts – are sorely lacking in artillery ammunition and are finding it increasingly difficult to organize the relief of their units. Their losses number in the hundreds. However, in this kind of battle, it is not so much the number of victims on each side that counts, but the number of men that we can afford to lose. And, in this game, Russia has a long tradition of sacrificing its own troops.