- fter several months of grinding, attritional conflict, the longest and bloodiest battle of the Russian war in Ukraineappears to be reaching an apex. In the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, Russian forces are advancing in their effort to completely surround the largely destroyed city, while Ukrainian forces appear to be conducting what the Institute for the Study of War think tank described on Sunday as a “limited fighting withdrawal” in the eastern part of the city.
As of Sunday night, Ukrainian officials said that they are continuing to hold off attacks from Russian troops and that there have been no decisions regarding withdrawal.
In the coming days and weeks, observers are bracing for two possible scenarios to occur. The first is that Russian forces continue to close in on central Bakhmut from the north, east, and southwest, forcing Ukrainian forces to conduct a controlled withdrawal out of the city in what would be its first major retreat since last summer—a pyrrhic victory for Moscow that comes with as many as tens of thousands of casualties and countless resources. The second is that Ukraine’s army stages a successful counterattack that repels further Russian advance, with possibly major implications for Russia’s frontline.
As of this writing, neither outcome can be ruled out, as Ukrainian and Russian forces appear to come under resource strains and internal divisions that may ultimately determine the fate of this embattled, albeit seemingly inconsequential, city. Here’s what to know.