Russian fighters aligned with Ukraine carry out rare attack in Russia

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The city of Bakhmut became a center of fighting in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, and the site of one of the longest and deadliest battles of the war.

Bakhmut residents try to put out a fire with buckets of water after rockets hit houses in the area in July.Credit…Mauricio Lima for The New York Times

When two Ukrainian cities in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine fell to Russian forces in quick succession last summer, Bakhmut, a town about 50 kilometers to the southwest, became the next target of the Russian campaign to secure the entire Donbas.

Bakhmut had been a supply hub for Ukrainian fighters in Luhansk’s two cities – Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk – and had been repeatedly shelled by Russian troops, causing the displacement of much of Bakhmut’s population of about 70,000. At the time, however, few expected the city, which also saw heavy fighting in 2014, to become the longest-running battle of the war.

Fall 2022

A soldier crossing the remains of one of the main bridges in Bakhmut in September.Credit…Tyler Hicks/The New York Times

Russia’s attack on Bakhmut was based on tactics used in previous battles: deploying artillery firepower and attempting to take neighboring towns and villages before moving into the town itself.

At the same time, Moscow, which controlled much of the territory east of the city, cut off the supply routes to Bakhmut that Ukrainian troops used. Breaking that access would force Ukrainian forces to withdraw to avoid encirclement.

In the fall, the two sides fought nearby and the shelling of the city intensified.

December 2022

An explosion lit up the sky as a small Ukrainian army surveillance team scanned the horizon above Bakhmut in December.Credit…Tyler Hicks/The New York Times

In a national speech, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine accused Russia of turning Bakhmut into “burnt ruins.” Among Ukrainians, the phrase “hold Bachmut” became a rallying cry, and the defense of the city increasingly became a national symbol of resistance.

January 2023

Residents walked past damaged buildings after collecting aid from a humanitarian group in Bakhmut in January.Credit…Nicole Tung for The New York Times

Russian troops captured the village of Klishchiivka, south of Bakhmut. Ukrainian forces considered it key to Bakhmut’s defense, as the village sits on high ground to the east of roads into the city that were critical for supplying the troops defending the city.

Ukrainian troops withdrew from the city of Soledar, northeast of Bakhmut, allowing Russian forces to tighten their hold on the city. Russia later claimed to have captured a handful of villages near Soledar, further jeopardizing supply routes to Bakhmut.

February 2023

A funeral in Irpin in February for Eduard Strauss, a Ukrainian soldier who died fighting near Bakhmut.Credit…Emile Ducke for The New York Times

The situation grew dire for the Ukrainians, with their main remaining supply route – which one general called the “last breath” – coming under increasing fire from Russian forces. A U.S. intelligence report from the time, leaked online in April, said that as of February 25, Ukrainian troops in the city “were almost operationally surrounded.”

Mr. Zelensky told the Ukrainians that “the situation is getting worse more difficult”, and the army of Ukraine paramedics excluded and other civilians from entering Bakhmut for security reasons, a decision seen as a prelude to a possible withdrawal.

But Ukraine sent reinforcements, including a variety of elite units, and managed to push Russian forces back far enough to allow supplies to soldiers in the city and evacuation of the wounded.

March 2023

Ukrainian soldiers fire artillery shells at a Russian infantry position near Bakhmut in March.Credit…Daniel Berehulak/The New York Times

The commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrsky, twice visited the soldiers in Bakhmut and said Russia was sending its “most prepared units” into battle.

Wagner’s mercenaries, who helped lead the Russian assault on the city, took control of most of eastern Bachmut, making the Bakhmutka River, which runs from north to south through the center of the city, the new front line. Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner group, said: “The pincers are closing.”

April 2023

A Ukrainian soldier after returning from the frontline in southern Bakhmut in April.Credit…Mauricio Lima for The New York Times

In fierce city battles, Ukrainian troops defended a western part of the city that was only 20 blocks wide, steadily smaller and relentlessly bombarded by artillery.

Russia stepped up its attacks on Bakhmut with artillery and airstrikes, Ukraine said, as Kiev troops fought to keep a grip on vital roads leading west out of the citytheir last major supply and evacuation route.

May 2023

The 80th Air Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fired a barrage of missiles in the direction of Bakhmut in a nighttime operation last week.Credit…Tyler Hicks/The New York Times

Mr Prigozhin threatened to withdraw his fighters from Bakhmut on May 10 due to lack of support from the Russian Defense Ministry, but seemed to regress two days later saying that he had been promised as much ammunition and weapons as was necessary to continue the fight.

By mid-May, Ukrainian forces managed to take back some territory north and south of Bakhmut, even as Russian forces continued their assault within the city limits.

On May 20, Mr. Prigozhin claimed that the city was completely under Wagner’s control, which was later reiterated by the Russian Defense Ministry. Ukraine’s top military commander then admitted that only a small contingent of troops still defended Bakhmut.