In Bachmut there is hardly anything left for the Russian troops, Putin wants to ban words en masse

Where are the Russians?

Russian units, especially troops of the mercenary group “Wagner”, are located in the northwest, north, east and south of the city. In the east, the Russians continue to try to push directly into the city. However, according to Ukrainian military reports, these break-ins were repelled.

In the north of the city, Russian units have taken the “Stupki” railway station in recent days and moved further west. The purpose of this action is to cut off the Ukrainians behind the city and thus surround Bachmut.

In the south, too, the Russians are pushing further west and north. The settlement of Opitne, about four kilometers south of Bakhmut, was captured last month. From there, Russian troops continue to try to enter the city from the south. Meanwhile, Putin’s troops are already in the suburbs, where the fighting is fierce.

A soldier of the Wagner troop told the Russian state broadcaster “RIA Novosti” that his group was only 1,740 meters from the center of Bakhmut. The Ukrainian troops held their positions but were exhausted and retreated “occasionally”.

Where are the Ukrainians?

Ukrainian troops hold their ground, but the situation is getting worse. President Zelensky said Bakhmut is probably the most difficult situation right now. Colonel General Oleksander Sirsky, commander of the defense of Bakhmut, also informed the news portal “Suspilny” that the situation in the city was very tense:

At the moment there is only one road from Bachmut to the west. The other main road in this direction goes over a bridge that was destroyed by Russian artillery in mid-February. Due to the thaw and the associated mud, motor vehicles are bound to this one road without traces.

But that’s not all: according to reports from Russian and pro-Western milbloggers, the Russian units are only about 700 meters from the “Road of Freedom”. If it is taken, the Ukrainians will not be able to leave the city. This is devastating, not only for the soldiers, but also for the remaining civilians still in the city.

But this street is already under artillery fire. in a Video Burning cars and corpses can be seen on the side of the road. It is unclear how long it will remain passable.

Of the former 71,000 inhabitants, about two to five thousand people still live in Bachmut. Among them are about 80 to 100 children, reports “Suspilnij”. Oleksandr Marchenko, deputy mayor of Bakhmut, said the evacuation of all families with children is currently underway. Videos of citizens of the Bakhmut area allegedly waiting for “liberation from the Ukrainian Nazis” are circulating in the Russian infosphere.

How’s the city?

Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of the Donetsk regional military administration, said Bakhmut was 80 percent destroyed. In fact, the images from the city are reminiscent of Grozny during the first Chechen war. Days of artillery barrages reduced Chechnya’s capital to rubble and ash.

Bachmut is about to meet the same fate. Houses have collapsed, walls collapsed, streets littered with shells. The destruction is due not only to the artillery fire, but also to “normal” combat behavior. For example, a Twitter video shows a Ukrainian “BMP-2” infantry fighting vehicle firing salvos at a house because a Russian soldier is hiding inside.

A video broadcast by the Russian channel “RIA Novosti” shows what Putin is fighting for in Bakhmut: ruins and rubble.