Bakhmut burning: fires everywhere as Russians close in on city's capture

[orangecrush]

People who have managed to reach Bakhmut in the past week use the same word to describe what they have experienced: hell.

As flames and smoke ring into the sky from blazing buildings, the city, almost totally encircled by Russian forces, has been raked by constant gunfire and explosions in recent days. With roads leading to the city under constant fire from two sides, and with snipers in the streets, accessing the city has become ever more perilous for rescue teams, as speculation has mounted that Ukrainian forces will have to withdraw.

“We haven’t been able to reach the downtown area in recent days,” said Olha Danilova, who like Wilk works for a Ukrainian NGO, Dobryi Rukh, which has been working in Bakhmut for all of the seven months of the Russian assault.

......

“It was super difficult,” Wilk added. “If you try go down the main road, someone is going to try and kill you. There are snipers in the street shooting civilians. They don’t give a fuck. It’s complete carnage.

.......


In recent days, even amid reports of a surge of Ukrainian reinforcements to the area, forces have struggled to repel Russian advances to the north and south of the city. With supply roads now under heavy fire by Russian artillery, including phosphorus munitions and anti-tank guided missiles, the long, slow encirclement that has cost the lives of thousands of Russian soldiers is choking the last access.


https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/02/bakhmut-burning-fires-everywhere-as-russians-close-in-ukraine



Ukraine is fighting a real war, with bullets. It is the same battle we are fighting here with ballots, free speech and lawyers, against literally the same people - Putin, his stooge Trump, and all their minions.

It is a war we can't afford to lose.



?w=768

[Walleye]

1. What a wonderful world it would be without these sadistic authoritarians

[Initech]

5. I know, right?

Fuck these fascist lunatics. Here, abroad, everywhere.

[orangecrush]

9. +1

[Bev54]

2. They need to get out while they still can, let it go.

The Ukrainians have done well to hold on for as long as they have. Russia has moved troops up from Mariupol to take Bakhmut. Maybe with some of the new equipment coming in, they should go for re-taking Mariupol.

[ColinC]

4. After they get more weapons and tanks, etc they'll likely take it back in a few months

...is my guess.

[Bev54]

6. Yes they just a few days ago blew up a couple of Russian ammunitions storage and

troop barracks there. I think they may be preparing for a big offensive. It is also telling that they are now sending kamikaze drones into Russia to also take out ammunitions and targeting military airports. They are testing the new equipment and it seems to be working well for them.

[Martin Eden]

3. Russia's big prize -- smoldering rubble

May they choke on it, and fertilize the ground with their corpses.

[Bev54]

7. They seem to want those salt mines badly. Why???

[orangecrush]

8. It isn't salt mines

From what I read.

Bakhmut is a major railway hub.

The Russians move a great deal of troops and supplies, tanks, etc. into Ukraine by rail.

Capturing the area (not the city itself, but the railroad lines/beds) would fortify their supply chain exponentially.

[Martin Eden]

10. Logistics operations hub target rich environment

For Ukrainian missiles.

[orangecrush]

11. Indeed

[orangecrush]

12. ...

Strategic value
The overall strategic value of Bakhmut has been considered dubious by many analysts, observing that the resources and lives Russia has spent assaulting the city far outweigh its importance.[123] The UK defence ministry and U.S. National Security Council have both insisted capturing Bakhmut would only be a "symbolic" victory for Russia rather than a strategic one.[124][125] Some observers noted that Bakhmut is a key regional logistics and transport hub where two roads, the T0504 to Kostiantynivka and T0513 to Siversk, pass through.[57][126]

Jon Roozenbeek, British Academy postdoctoral fellow at the University of Cambridge, observed that securing Bakhmut would put Kramatorsk and Sloviansk within sufficient Russian artillery range. Others have concurred with this analysis

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bakhmut