Battle of Bakhmut

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Battle of Bakhmut
Part of the eastern Ukraine warfare's Battle of Donbas in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
No man's land in the outskirts of Bakhmut
Date 1 August 2022 – 21 May 2023 (2 years, 6 months and 4 days) Location Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine 48°35′42″N 38°00′00″E / 48.5950°N 38.0000°E / 48.5950; 38.0000 Result Russian victory
Belligerents
Russia  Donetsk People's Republic  Luhansk People's Republic Wagner Group	Ukraine
Commanders and leaders
Aleksey Nagin †[1] Yevgeny Prigozhin	Oleksandr Tarnavskiy[2] Yurii Bereza[3] Andriy Mikheichenko[4]
Units involved
PMC Wagner[5]  Russian Armed Forces Donetsk People's Militia[6]	Ukrainian Armed Forces
Casualties and losses
Unknown, thought to be a lot. 60,000 dead/wounded - Ukr est.[7]	Unknown, thought to be a lot. [8]
125+ civilians killed

The Battle of Bakhmut is an ongoing series of battles in and near the city of Bakhmut. It is being fought between the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the Russian Armed Forces. It is part of the Battle of Donbas. Shelling of Bakhmut started in May 2022. The main attack on the city started on 1 August. It started after Russian soldiers moved in from Popasna after the Ukrainians left the city.^[9] The main attack force is mostly made of mercenaries from the Russian paramilitary organization Wagner Group. The attack force also has regular Russian troops and DPR and LPR separatist soldiers.^[6][10][5]

As of late 2022, the Bakhmut front became the center of the war. It is one of the few front lines in Ukraine where Russia stayed on the attack.^[11] Attacks on the city grew stronger in November 2022. Attacking Russian forces were made stronger by units from the Kherson front and newly mobilized recruits.^[12][13] By this time, much of the fighting on the front line became trench warfare. Both sides have taken many casualties.^[14]

1. ↑ Bickerton, James (2022-09-30). "Russian Wagner commander killed in Ukraine's Donbas". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 13 October 2022. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
2. ↑ "The Fight to Survive Russia's Onslaught in Eastern Ukraine". The New Yorker. 7 June 2022. Archived from the original on 2 October 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
3. ↑ Gibbons-Neff, Thomas; Yermak, Natalia; Hicks, Tyler (2022-09-26). "Two Cities, Two Armies: Pivot Points in the Fight in Ukraine's East". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 13 October 2022. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
4. ↑ Gall, Carlotta (12 November 2022). "Ukraine Signals It Will Stay on the Offensive, Despite Talk of a Lull". The New York Times.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Higgins, Andrew; Bigg, Matthew Mpoke (2022-11-06). "Russia Looks to Private Militia to Secure a Victory in Eastern Ukraine". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} David Axe (25 October 2022). "A Fierce Ukrainian Mechanized Brigade Is Routing Russian Mercenaries In One Symbolic Eastern Town". Forbes.
7. ↑ "Day 301 December 21st summary of Arestovych and Feygin daily broadcast" War Tralsnated.com https://wartranslated.com/day-301-december-21st-summary-of-arestovych-and-feygin-daily-broadcast/ Archived 2023-01-30 at the Wayback Machine
8. ↑ "'Russia Inflicts Heavy Losses on Ukraine' as Battle of Bakhmut Rages—Report". Newsweek.^{[permanent dead link]}
9. ↑ Cite error: The named reference :0 was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
10. ↑ Landry, Carole (2022-11-28). "Russia's Battle for Bakhmut". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-12-02.
11. ↑ Brown, Chris (1 December 2022). "Why the battle for the small city of Bakhmut is so important to both Russia and Ukraine". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
12. ↑ Gibbons-Neff, Thomas; Yermak, Natalia; Hicks, Tyler (2022-11-27). "In Ukraine, Bakhmut Becomes a Bloody Vortex for 2 Militaries". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
13. ↑ Vasilyeva, Nataliya (2022-11-17). "Heavy fighting in eastern Ukraine raises fears Moscow is reinforcing new epicentre of war". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
14. ↑ "Fighting in Ukraine descends into trench warfare as Russia looks to break through". The Guardian. 28 November 2022.