Ukrainian troops recount bitter fight for Bakhmut, a ‘city in ruins’
- Ukraine and Russia’s fight for Bakhmut is the longest and bloodiest battle of the war
- In some places, Russian forces and Ukrainian defenders are a few metres apart
The screeching artillery shells crashing down from Russian positions in the embattled and rubble-strewn city of Bakhmut in east Ukraine shake 20-year-old sapper Denis the most.
“You hear a boom, a whistle and then an explosion. And of course the shrapnel,” the military engineer told Agence France-Presse, just hours after rotating from the fiercest battle of Russia’s invasion.
“That’s the worst. It’s scary – scary for anyone,” he said, adding he had no antidote to fear other than staying home.
That’s not an option for the military engineers gathered in a leafy courtyard several kilometres west of Bakhmut, who say the ferocious battle for the city is becoming precarious.
Their testimony to Agence France-Presse offers a look inside the longest and bloodiest stand off of Russia’s invasion, with access otherwise limited by heavy shelling and close street battles.
“The city looks more like ruins. There are almost no whole houses left. It’s practically wiped out. There’s shelling every day and every day there are more ruins,” said Denis, who joined the military last year after university.