The furious attacks by Moscow's forces to capture the destroyed city of Bakhmut are intensifying. Reports of infantry charges like those seen in World War I have left fields covered in dead Russian soldiers.
'What Madness Looks Like': Russia Intensifies Bakhmut Assault As Ukraine Holds The Line
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Ukrainian soldiers near Bakhmut fire mortars toward Russian positions on January 11.
The assaults on Bakhmut are being led by soldiers from Russia's notorious private mercenary company the Vagner Group, according to Ukrainian, Western, and Russian officials. Some reports point to World War I-style "human wave" infantry attacks.
The assaults on Bakhmut are being led by soldiers from Russia's notorious private mercenary company the Vagner Group, according to Ukrainian, Western, and Russian officials. Some reports point to World War I-style "human wave" infantry attacks.
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A Ukrainian soldier smokes a cigarette at his position near Bakhmut.
Located astride two major crossroads, Bakhmut has been all but emptied of its 70,000 residents, as the city's buildings and homes have nearly all been destroyed.
Located astride two major crossroads, Bakhmut has been all but emptied of its 70,000 residents, as the city's buildings and homes have nearly all been destroyed.
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Ukrainian tanks roll toward the front line in the Donetsk region.
Ukrainian troops are defending Bakhmut's northern, eastern, and southern approaches against Russian forces, who are launching ferocious attacks to seize territory that some analysts say is of no strategic military value.
Ukrainian troops are defending Bakhmut's northern, eastern, and southern approaches against Russian forces, who are launching ferocious attacks to seize territory that some analysts say is of no strategic military value.
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The ferocity of the attacks can be seen in this satellite image supplied on January 11 that shows the crater-scarred landscape east of Bakhmut.
"Everything is completely destroyed. There is almost no life left," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said earlier this week of the scene around Bakhmut and the nearby city of Soledar, another focus of Moscow's attacks.
"The whole land near Soledar is covered with the corpses of the occupiers and scars from the strikes," Zelenskiy said. "This is what madness looks like."
"Everything is completely destroyed. There is almost no life left," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said earlier this week of the scene around Bakhmut and the nearby city of Soledar, another focus of Moscow's attacks.
"The whole land near Soledar is covered with the corpses of the occupiers and scars from the strikes," Zelenskiy said. "This is what madness looks like."
