Russian troops pummel Bakhmut as Putin seeks visible gains

RUSSIAN soldiers are slowly edging closer in their attempt to seize the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.

Troops are pummelling the city with artillery in an attempt to prise it from Ukrainian hands in order to complete Moscow’s goal of capturing the Donbas region bordering Russia.

While much of the fighting in the last month has unfolded in southern Ukraine’s Kherson region, the battle heating up around Bakhmut demonstrates Russian President Vladimir Putin’s desire for visible gains after weeks of clear setbacks in Ukraine.

Taking Bakhmut would rupture Ukraine’s supply lines and open a route for Russian forces to press on toward Kramatorsk and Sloviansk – key Ukrainian strongholds in Donetsk province. Pro-Moscow separatists have controlled part of Donetsk and neighbouring Luhansk province since 2014. Before invading Ukraine, Mr Putin recognised the independence of the rebels’ self-proclaimed republics. Last month, he illegally annexed the Donetsk, Luhansk and two other provinces that Russia had occupying forces in. Russia has battered Bakhmut with rockets for more than five months. The ground assault accelerated after its troops forced the Ukrainians to withdraw from Luhansk in July. The line of contact is now on the city’s outskirts, with mercenaries from the Wagner Group, a shadowy Russian military company, reported to be leading the charge.

Russia’s drive for Bakhmut exposes Moscow’s “craziness”, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a nightly address. “Day after day, for months, they have been driving people there to their deaths, concentrating the maximum power of artillery strikes there,” Mr Zelensky said.