HELL ON EARTH
Inside Ukraine’s bloodiest battle where soldiers have just 4 HOUR life expectancy in fighting with ‘drugged up’ Russians
UKRAINIAN troops in the battle for Bakhmut are fighting against what they’ve alleged is a drugged up, zombie-like army that often outnumbers them ten to one.
The current battle cry echoing across Ukraine is “Bakhmut holds” as their soldiers withstand the full might of the Russian military on their frozen eastern frontline.
5
5
5
A once popular tourist destination, Bakhmut has largely been reduced to ruin.
The city's been hollowed out by artillery fire and levelled by carpet bombing - with its frozen ground carved up by craters and trenches.
Its pre-war population of 80,000 has dwindled to around 7,000 brave - mostly elderly - residents who stayed behind.
They are now trapped under a barrage of gunfire and explosions as Ukraine defends its stronghold against a fierce Russian onslaught.
read more on ukraine
Nadiya Burdinska, born in Bakhmut and resolute in her decision to stay, explained: “Only a dummy wouldn’t be afraid.”
“Everything is possible… if God wants it, I’ll stay alive,” she told .
There’s no phone signal, most cars have been burnt, and Russia has ceaselessly targeted their energy and service infrastructure. Most residents have been without running water for the most part of a year.
And yet on Saturday, President Volodymyr Zelensky told an EU summit: "Nobody will give away Bakhmut. We will fight for as long as we can. We consider Bakhmut our fortress."
Most read in The Sun
Zelensky vowed to defend Bakhmut despite emphasising the fighting is gruellingly “tough”.
After eight months of relentless battles, Russia still does not have control of the symbolic eastern city, which is starving Putin of a major military victory he has been desperately searching for since the summer.
Both sides are firmly dug in and achingly slow progress has been taking place at a very high cost to human life in scenes that have been likened to the First World War battlefields.
Exhausted Ukrainian forces have held onto, albeit scarcely, their “fortress” in the longest battle of the Ukraine war. It’s also the most symbolic.
“It’s hell on earth right now; I can’t find enough words to describe it," Ukrainian soldier Petro Voloschenko .
For Russia to make genuine progress in controlling the rest of the Donetsk region – one of four regions Putin brazenly claimed to have annexed in September - then the Russian army must take Bakhmut.
They are fighting up to the last ditch… there are fierce battles for every street, every house, every stairwell
Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin
The salt city is also key to Russia's political plans to break Ukrainian spirit - to destroy what Voloschenko calls a "symbol of Ukrainian invincibility".
"Bakhmut is the heart of Ukraine," he says, "and the future peace of those cities that are no longer under occupation depends on the rhythm with which it beats."
A Ukrainian reporter speaking to soldiers fighting on the frontlines in the city was told: “The average lifespan for mobilised fighters in Bakhmut is four hours”.
Russia has the luxury of sheer manpower bolstered by the Wagner Group, whose front wing is made up of largely poorly-trained and badly-equipped convict recruits.
Ukrainian officials have referred to their role on the battlefield as “cannon fodder” - expendable soldiers to be sacrificed in the front waves, whilst the private militia’s specialist troops hang back.
If they survive six months at the front, they have secured their freedom at home. But
Ukrainian soldier Andriy explained: “We were fighting for about 10 hours in a row.
“And it wasn’t like just waves, it was uninterrupted. So it was just like they didn’t stop coming," he . “It was about 20 soldiers on our side. And let’s say 200 from their side."
He described fighting the convict army as a scene from a zombie movie, adding: “They’re climbing above the corpse of their friends, stepping on them."
Andriy said a machine gunner was stunned to find that when he would shoot at enemy soldiers, they kept on walking until they bled out.
“It looks like it’s very, very likely that they are getting some drugs before they attack,” he claimed.
In a rare admission of truth, Wagner boss and Putin lapdog Yevgeny Prigozhin sought to put to bed Russian media reports that Ukrainian soldiers were leaving the city.
Instead, he confirmed in a statement on Telegram that: "The Ukrainian armed forces are not retreating.
“They are fighting up to the last ditch… there are fierce battles for every street, every house, every stairwell”.
But military analysts say Bakhmut is nearing tipping point, whilst Britain’s defence ministry confirmed today that Russia has made “small in advances” in its pursuit of encircling the city.
The tense news comes as Ukraine braces for a suspected Russian spring offensive to commemorate the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
Ukraine’s military intelligence reports estimate 500,000 conscripted soldiers are amassing on the border preparing to attack on the eastern and southern fronts.
The war-torn nation has been desperately scrambling for more heavy weaponry from the West, some, but not all of which, will arrive in time.
At a press conference yesterday, Ukraine’s Defence Minister Oleksii Rezniko said: "We still, of course, expect possible Russian offensive operations, because it's February, and they like symbolism”.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
As Bakhmut holds almost a mythic level of importance to Ukraine, Russia will likely be intent on winning this battle ahead of their “symbolic” anniversary.
“We are ready,” Rezniko said.
5
5
Topics