Bachmut must not fall. Images of a battle that will never end

Eight years ago, pro-Russian separatists tried to gain a foothold in Bakhmut – in vain, even if the conflict smoldered. In the early summer of last year, Russia began shelling the town of 75,000 again. Since then, the city has been fought over like no other place. The battle is called “meat grinder” because thousands of soldiers were used as cannon fodder.

But there is no sign of discouragement – neither on the part of Ukraine nor on the part of Russia. On the contrary: the longer the seemingly endless battle lasts and turns the place into a wasteland of rubble, the more doggedly the soldiers seem to be determined to fight.

At last 5000 people lived in Bachmut

After the loss of the cities of Sieverodonetsk and Lysychansk in 2022, Bakhmut is part of Ukraine’s current line of defense in Donbass. With the trench warfare, the Ukrainian army had forced Russia to suffer the highest possible losses of soldiers and material. According to authorities, 5,000 civilians still live in Bakhmut. Two-thirds of the city is controlled by Russia, the rest in Ukrainian hands.

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