A soldier of the 28th Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Army firing at a Russian target near Bakhmut, in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, this month.Credit…Tyler Hicks/The New York Times
The Ukrainian military says that it has been moving forward despite fierce resistance from Russian soldiers to the north and south of Bakhmut, putting greater pressure on Moscow’s forces to devote resources to the battle as they brace for a wider Ukrainian counteroffensive.
Bakhmut, once a city of 80,000 known for its sparkling wine and salt mines, has been the site of some of the deadliest urban combat in a generation. After nearly a year of fighting, Russian forces have seized control of about 90 percent of the ruined city. But after months on the defensive, Ukraine last week launched a series of coordinated counterattacks and, in a matter of days, reclaimed ground around the city that it took Russian forces months to seize.
Hanna Maliar, a Ukrainian deputy minister of defense, said on Tuesday…
This article was written by The New York Times and originally published on www.nytimes.com