1 of 4 A Ukrainian soldier walks past houses destroyed by Russian shelling in Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Thursday, November 10, 2022. —Photo: AP Photo/LIBKOS A Ukrainian soldier walks past houses destroyed by Russian shelling in Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Thursday, November 10, 2022 — Photo: AP Photo/LIBKOS
The Battle of Bakhmut, one of the most violent It is extended of the war in Ukraine, has acquired a symbolic value over the months that goes far beyond its strategic interest.
The fate of this eastern Ukrainian city is reminiscent of that of the southern port city of Mariupol, which suffered months of horrific fighting before falling to the Russians in spring 2022.
Bachmut, a small industrial town from eastern Ukraine, with 70,000 inhabitants before the Russian invasion destroyed after eight months of struggle.
call from “Hell of Earth” of Ukrainian soldiers is the location “virtually fenced”according to the Russian paramilitary group wagner.
The relentless struggle and the meterbymeter advance claimed heavy casualties on both sides.
Drone footage shows a burning apartment building in Bakhmut
Understand below the reasons that made Bakhmut the focus of the war.
What is the strategic importance?
2 of 4 Ukrainian military on the street outside the city of Bakhmut on February 13, 2023 — Photo: Yevhenii Zavhorodnii/Portal Ukrainian military on the street outside the city of Bakhmut on February 13, 2023 — Photo: Yevhenii Zavhorodnii/ Portal
Little, say analysts. Even Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy conceded in an interview with the French newspaper Le Figaro in February: “Bakhmut is not of great strategic importance because the Russians completely destroyed the city with their artillery.”
“It’s not a highvalue military target,” said Australian Reserve General Mick Ryan, a research fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington.
“The Battle of Bakhmut consumes human and material resources on a large scale. The investment is disproportionate to the importance of the city,” said Ryan.
For Belgian military analyst Joseph Henrotin, Bakhmut served to “reduce the potential of each side”.
“The Russians have been trying since December weaknesses the Ukrainian position, forcing the country to mobilize forces on all sides and avoid concentration to create a rupture. Bakhmut is just one piece of the puzzle. His fall means nothing if the other points resist,” he says.
In the long term, however, it can pave the way Kramatorska large industrial city in the west, but still quite protected, explains the researcher.
symbolic value
3 of 4 Ukrainian soldiers patrol in the city of Bakhmut on February 21, 2023 — Photo: Alex Babenko/Portal Ukrainian soldiers patrol in the city of Bakhmut on February 21, 2023 — Photo: Alex Babenko/Portal
As the months passed and the situation grew more difficult, Bakhmut a symbolic dimension. President Zelenskyy visited what he called “Bakhmut’s Fortress” in December.
The founder of the Wagner paramilitary group, Yevgueny Prigozhin, practically turned the city into one personal struggle to demonstrate the worth of their mercenaries.
“The scale of the casualties gave Bakhmut political importance,” stresses Mick Ryan.
“It is a symbolfor both Ukrainians and Russians,” agrees Thibault Fouillet of the Foundation for Strategic Research (FRS).
“But some things that were heralded as definitive turning points in the war were not,” he says, noting in particular the Russian withdrawal from the Kharkiv region (northeast) in April or the Ukrainian recapture of Kherson (south). the second semester of last year.
“I think we’ll switch to those quickly another point of tension at the frontwhich is characteristic of this war of attrition,” he adds.
An internal Russian question
4 of 4 Wagner Group head Yevgeny Prigozhin has close ties with the Kremlin — Photo: AP Photo Wagner Group head Yevgeny Prigozhin has close ties with the Kremlin — Photo: AP Photo
Bakhmut’s conquest, that would be it first Russian victory since the Ukrainian counteroffensives at the end of last year center of rivalry between the Russian Ministry of Defense and the founder of the Wagner Group, which has been trying to gain a political foothold for several months.
In recent weeks, Prigozhin has criticized the “monstrous military bureaucracy and politicians,” going so far as to accuse General Staff Commander Valery Guerasimov and Defense Minister Serguei Shoigu of “treason” for failing to supply their mercenaries with ammunition.
The war in Ukraine made the commander of the Wagner group dream of greatness, says Russian researcher Tatiana Stanovaya from the R.Politik center.
“Prigozhin is now a very visible figure on the Russian scene,” he says. “The war in Ukraine brought him public attention and he likes that,” he concludes.
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