Bakhmut, the town too tough to die
Jon Sweet Mark Toth
The Donetsk Oblast city of Bakhmut is the town too tough to die.
It has been described by many analysts as having little strategic value. Still, Bakhmut has become the epicenter of the war in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have staked much on the battle’s outcome.
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Since Russian troops began their assault on the city in May 2022, Bakhmut has been the face of the Ukraine war. The casualties continue to mount at a horrific pace, with tens of thousands of Russian soldiers dying this year. The city and surrounding terrain lay in ruins, completely and totally devastated by indirect artillery fire, tank engagements, and fierce urban fighting. Images displayed on social media resemble World War I warfare — trench networks, no man’s land, bodies, and abandoned equipment.
Putin justifies this mayhem on the basis that Bakhmut is Russia, at least since his Sept. 30, 2022, illegal annexation. But the political stakes also extend to Gen. Valery Gerasimov and Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner Group. They are racing one another to encircle and capture the city. Various nationalists, propagandists, and milbloggers are also invested.
For Zelensky, Bakhmut is Ukraine — sovereign terrain. His strategy: to fix and hold to buy time to build combat power as tank crews train in Poland on their new Leopard 2 Main Battle Tanks and other weapon systems contributed by NATO countries.
Regardless, Bakhmut has become the war’s center of gravity for both sides. It has been a precarious situation for months now. The resiliency and tenacity of Ukrainian soldiers are on full display as they stand their ground. Those soldiers deserve increased Western support.
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Jonathan Sweet, a retired Army colonel, served 30 years as a military intelligence officer. Follow him on Twitter @JESweet2022. Mark Toth is a retired economist and entrepreneur who has worked in banking, insurance, publishing, and global commerce. Follow him on Twitter @MCTothSTL.