War in Ukraine (2024)

Bakhmut

Bakhmut, a small city located in North eastern Ukraine and has been under heavy Russian attacks until it was captured in 2023. And many historians believe this battle to be the bloodiest battle of the war so far. And the nickname the 'Stalingrad' of Ukraine. Because of the ruthless tactics both sides imposed on eachother. The Ukrainian troops however did not just face the Russian army. They also encountered a ruthless mercenary group many know as 'Wagner'. These elite men were just like Russian soldiers but they were specialised in tactics and adaptations of the battle. And they had roughly 5 divisions in the battle for Bakhmut. And these fearsome units did not go down without a fight. And that may be the reason why the battle was so bloody and 'Stalingrad' like conditions.

In this battle there was roughly around 50,000-60,000 Russian/Wagner troops against 40,000-45,000 Ukrainian troops. And this battle also had one of the highest troops counts of the war so far. Except for that artillery and armoured vehicles which also contributed to both sides. And the Russian artillery turned the city into a ruin of rubble and collapsed buildings. And warfare was brutal in these conditions especially when both sides would accidentally be blown up by their own artillery strikes. Especially the Russian side, as they shelled the city with thousands of shells. And many poor Ukrainian citizens were forced to flee or endure the lethal battle taking place. As Russian forces moved in they encountered fierce resistance for weeks. And they decided to flank them from the North and south which therefore once again created a threat of encirclement and by the time the threat was noticed, they withdrew from their positions.

And by Mid 2023, 90% of the city was in Russian control. And officially the RUAF declared victory in the battle of Bakmut. And in recent months, Russian troops pushed the last Ukrainian defenders out of the remaining part of the city. And have established a strong foothold around the city with the terrain around them aswell. However it wasnt completely sure whether or not the Russians could push any further as of October 11th. However, small gains had been made and they are approaching 5 new settlements of towns and villages. More to be named later on in the book...
And so, Bakhmut has seen some of the toughest fighting of the entire war and still the battle is compared to the battle of Stalingrad. And Wagner had grew unstable and disobedient to their commanders. As their ammunition supplies was being limited and was corrupted by bribed drivers which dumped their supplies. And they were beginning to suffer heavy casualties and surely this wouldn't cause a brief revolt that would nearly result in the capture of Moscow and almost lead to a coup that caused instability in Russia?