The Obliteration of Bachmut: Before/after photos show the completely destroyed city

Before the war, about 70,000 people lived in the city of Bakhmut, embedded in green hills and connected to the rest of Ukraine by national roads and railways.

Today, apocalyptic conditions reign in Bachmut. The city is largely deserted and completely destroyed. It is the scene of months of bitter fighting between Russian and Ukrainian troops. There were an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 military casualties during the fighting in Bakhmut.

The Battle of Bachmut is considered Europe’s most costly battle since World War II.

The American satellite company Maxar published before and after photos of Bachmut in May 2023, documenting the debris field.

The photos show the complete destruction. Homes, schools, shops and other infrastructure are just rubble. Parks and avenues are stripped of all vegetation and buried under a brown blanket of dust and rubble.

The losses of the past ten months have been significant for both sides. The soldiers therefore also call the city of Bakhmut a “meat grinder”.

The war in Ukraine forced the inhabitants to flee. And yet some 5,000 people still live in the city. Most don’t even know where to go, so they stay at home.

Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maljar wrote on Telegram last Tuesday: “Within a few days, our forces have cleared about 20 square kilometers north and south of Bakhmut from the enemy, who in turn are advancing into Bakhmut and the completely destroys the city with its artillery. .”

Now the city would have been completely taken over, Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigoschin announced on Saturday. Later, the regular army also announced the conquest. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the awarding of medals.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky contradicted Moscow’s claim: “Bakhmut was not occupied by Russia today,” he said at the G7 summit in Hiroshima on Sunday.

Fighting in Bakhmut continued this week.

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