Battle of Bakhmut

Battle of Bakhmut
Part of the eastern Ukraine offensive's Battle of Donbas in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
Map of combat operations in the vicinity of Bakhmut with an apartment on June 17, 2022
Date 1 August 2022 – present (1 year, 11 months, 1 week and 3 days) Location Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine Status Ongoing
Belligerents
Russia Luhansk People's Republic	Ukraine
Commanders and leaders
Unknown	Unknown
Units involved
Russian Armed Forces Russian Ground Forces 1st Guards Tank Army 144th Guards Motor Rifle Division 45th Engineer Regiment	Ukrainian Armed Forces Ukrainian Ground Forces 81st Airmobile Brigade Territorial Defense Forces
Strength
Unknown	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Unknown
Unknown

The battle of Bakhmut are a series of military engagements near the city of Bakhmut between the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation during the battle for Donbas in 2022.

Background

Main articles: Battle of Donbas (2022) and Eastern Ukraine offensive

Further information: Battle of Popasna, Battle of Sievierodonetsk (2022), and War in Donbas

On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, in a steep escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which had begun in 2014. The invasion caused Europe's fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War II, with more than 6.5 million Ukrainians fleeing the country and a third of the population displaced. On 8 May, Serhiy Haidai, governor of Luhansk Oblast, said on his Telegram channel that the Russians controlled only half of the city of Popasna, but later admitted Ukrainian forces had pulled out. By 12 May, Russian forces had defeated Ukrainian forces in the Battle of Rubizhne and established full control of the city, furthering their attempts at encircling Sievierodonetsk.

Battle

Apparment block in Bakhmut after shelling May 17, 2022

On May 17, Russian forces began shelling the city, interrupting electricity supply. Five people were killed including a 2-year-old child. A Latvian news team captured the immediate aftermath of the shelling of an apartament. After the blockades were settled, it became clear that there were five dead, among them a child.

On 20 May, Russian forces made further advances in the west and south of Popasna, with the aim of cutting off the road to Sievierodonetsk. Despite stiff Ukrainian resistance, Russian forces finally broke through in the Popasna area on 20 May. By 22 May, Russian forces managed to secure their route of advance and attempted to simultaneously push west towards Bakhmut and north to cut off-road links to Sievierodonetsk. On 24 May, Russian forces attacked from Popasna with the aim of cutting off Bakhmut, Lysychansk and Sievierodonetsk, gaining some ground. Ukrainian forces made a controlled withdrawal southwest of Pospasna to strengthen their defensive position at Bakhmut. Russians subsequently captured Svitlodarsk. The next day, Russian forces managed to enter the Bakhmut-Lysychansk highway near the villages of Nahirne and Bilohorivka. Russian advances endangered the supply lines of Ukrainian troops in Lysychansk and Sievierodonetsk area

On May 26 the Russians managed to set up a checkpoint on the T 1302 highway, which was later demolished, allowing traffic to resume.

On May 30, heavy fighting broke out on the road between Kostiantynivka and Bakhmut after Russian forces tried to cut off a road northeast to the city of Lysychansk and its brothers in Sievierodonetsk, where a Russian offensive is trying to encircle Ukrainian troops. The goal of this military operation of the Russian army was to separate the Ukrainian forces from Bakhmut and Lysychansk with the intention of encircling the Ukrainian forces in three boilers in the agglomeration of Sievierodonetsk-Lysychansk, Bakhmut-Kostiantynivka-Dzerzhinsk and Slavyansk-Kramatorsk.

On the morning of June 9, Russian planes hit an agricultural warehouse complex on the outskirts of Bakhmut. It was the third blow to the complex in recent weeks. A gaping hole in the sidewalk shows where one bomb hit, spraying shrapnel in all directions, tearing holes in a wheat warehouse.

On June 12, on a nearby wooded hill, thin streaks of black smoke swirled into the sky from where the explosions came - most likely a Ukrainian rocket launcher. There was a drastic shortage of bread that day due to increasing pressure from Russian forces to cut the Lysychansk-Bakhmut road. Russian forces have been bombing the road and Bakhmut for weeks, in what is seen as an attempt to cut off the twin cities from the rest of Ukraine-controlled territory.

Strong air strikes by Russian aviation on Bakhmut continued in the following days.

On June 16, Russian forces attempted to improve their tactical situation in the direction of Bakhmut by conducting an assault operation and artillery shelling near a number of settlements. In the direction of Bakhmut, the enemy launched an assault on the area to improve its tactical position. Artillery shelling was recorded in the area of Vesela, Soledar, Berestovo and Vovchoiarivka, from where the assault on Bakhmut was launched. On July 3rd, after the battle of Siversk began, Russia stepped up it’s attacks on Bakhmut.

On July 16th, following the end of the operational pause, Bakhmut and Siversk became the key focus of the war. On July 19th, Russia’s defense minister implied that unlike the ISW and most experts had predicted, Russia would use Siversk as a staging ground to Bakhmut, not Sloviansk. Shortly afterwards, the ISW said that Russia planned to focus on Bakhmut and Siversk first, before focusing on the “main goal” of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.

On July 25, the Vuhledar power plant at Novoluhanske fell, cutting the entire Svitlodarsk defensive line. Novoluhanske fell in mid-late May. This happened after a controlled Ukrainian withdrawal from the area. Novoluhanske is a little smaller than one square mile. On the same day, Berestove fell. The Institute for the Study of War theorized that this was in reaction to continued failures to breach Siversk, but also said that it is unlikely this will provide the ability to attack Bakhmut, and said it’s possible this will be retaken, like Hryhorivka.

Massive bombing of the city

On July 26, while the battle for Donbas was going on, it was confirmed that Russian troops had captured the Vuhlehirsk coal-fired thermal power plant, about 55 km from Bakhmut. An adviser to Ukraine's president, Alexei Arestovich, said the seizure of the plant gave Russian forces a "small tactical advantage" as they looked to restart their offensive in the east.

On July 27, Russian forces began a daily heavy bombardment of Bakhmut just before the offensive against the city itself. The Russians beat Bakhmut in the form of artillery strikes. A city hotel was hit. Donetsk Governor Pavlo Kirilenko said at least three were killed and three wounded. Six residential buildings and six private houses were damaged.

Battle and storm the city

On August 1, Russian forces launched massive ground attacks on settlements south and southeast of Bakhmut. Russian Telegram channel Voennyi Osvedomitel published footage of destroyed vehicles in a field, claiming that Russian forces are within two kilometers of Bakhmut. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation announced that the battle and assault on the city of Bakhmut had begun. The following day, Russian forces achieved some success southeast of Bakhmut and continued offensive operations northeast and southeast of Bakhmut. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Russian aviation had allegedly increased the intensity of airstrikes and had begun a ground attack on the city. Fierce fighting took place on the southeastern outskirts of the city.