The industrial city of Bakhmut, in the eastern Donbas region, remains the hottest spot on the Ukrainian front. The Russians claim to be in control of the town, which has been left in ruins with 80% of its structures destroyed. However, the commander of Ukrainian ground forces, Oleksander Syrsky, has claimed that his troops have carried out small counterattacks in the area.
According to Private Anton, who is recovering in a hospital after being wounded on the Bakhmut front, the situation is “quite complicated.” Anton explains that the Russians shoot at them with artillery and tanks, forcing them to stay in the trenches, and then send their men to attack directly. Anton claims that the Russians are very numerous and look like clones because, after killing about thirty of them, they do not remove them from the battlefield and attack again with a group of 50 or 60 men an hour later.
The Ukrainian soldiers waited for help for two and a half days in their trenches, without food or water. Anton describes the situation as horrible, and many soldiers refuse to return. However, Anton admits that he might return to Bakhmut once he has recovered. Soldiers in the area are willing to be deployed elsewhere, but not in Bakhmut. The town has suffered extensive damage and has left most of its inhabitants homeless and jobless. The war in eastern Ukraine has killed more than 13,000 people since it began in 2014. The situation in Bakhmut remains tense, and no solution is expected in the short term.