If there’s one city that has come to symbolize the grinding war of attrition in Ukraine, it’s Bakhmut.
Russia has pummeled the city for more than seven months, reducing it to a charred ghost town. Moscow has sent wave after wave of soldiers and Wagner Group mercenaries toward Ukrainian positions, sustaining heavy casualties in the process. At several points, as Russian forces close in, the city has appeared on the verge of falling. But Ukrainian fighters have stood their ground.