BREAKING: Russian forces have claimed full control of Bakhmut, ending an intense monthslong battle for the eastern city that came to embody Ukrainian resistance.
in February and found a dire situation for the few thousand civilians who had stayed behind from an estimated pre-war population of around 80,000. Known for its salt and gypsum mines, Bakhmut had become a ghost town, with residents sheltering in basements from the relentless thuds of artillery fire.
Ukraine opted to reinforce Bakhmut in recent months despite a dire situation that saw it control just a single road into the city.20,000 of the Kremlin’s forces were killed in Ukraine between December and May alone, the— half of them Wagner fighters whose combat was focused in Bakhmut. Prigozhin had threatened to withdraw from the city after releasing a series of furious video messages aimed at Russia's military leaders.His public feud with the Kremlin's top brass has escalated in recent weeks as his troops inside Bakhmut edged forward even as Russia's army was suddenly driven back on the city's flanks, in Ukraine's first significant gains for months.
Ukraine is preparing a sweeping counteroffensive that will aim to seize back land across the front lines of the war.
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