Merciless fighting in Bakhmut: Ukrainian soldier tells how Russians are being killed in droves
Created: 12/22/2022, 12:44 p.m
By: Patrick Mayer
Heavy fighting in the Donbass: an apparently new cemetery near Bakhmut.
© Libkos/AP/dpa
In the Ukraine war, Bachmut becomes a contested town.
According to the Ukrainian defenders, the Russian attackers are being sent to their deaths without a plan.
Otherwise there is a risk of execution.
Munich/Bachmut – How do these words go down to his soldiers?
Cynicism?
Sarcasm?
Or is it benevolence?
From a Western perspective, you don't know.
"Everything that fighters need must be modern, comfortable and reliable," Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday (December 21) during a speech to officers.
Ukraine War: Kyiv claims huge casualties among Russian soldiers
The Kremlin chief then held a minute's silence with the military in attendance for the Russian soldiers killed in the Ukraine war.
There should be many.
And there could be many more dead young men to come soon.
Died for what?
Putin, who seemed tired, could not even answer this question.
More than 900 kilometers from the front, the Moscow ruler talked in vague terms about any goals without naming them.
The day before, however, his adversary, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, visited his soldiers – directly at the front.
Shortly before his visit to the hard-fought Bachmut, the 44-year-old spoke of an alleged number of 99,000 occupiers who had been killed.
In the video: Compact – The most important news about the Russia-Ukraine war
This cannot be independently confirmed.
But what Zelenskyy said on Monday (December 19) could be an indication of what the Russian attackers, according to Ukraine, can expect here, deep in the Donbass, in the coming days and weeks.
"So far there are almost 99,000 soldiers, in a few days the losses of the occupiers will increase to 100,000," he said in a video speech.
Ukraine war: Bakhmut in Donbass is heavily contested
Not only Selenskyj, but also the British Ministry of Defense - whose foreign intelligence service is closely monitoring developments - is now expecting bloody "street fighting" over Bakhmut, which once had just over 70,000 inhabitants and is an important transport hub in eastern Ukraine.
According to the
Frankfurter Rundschau
, Western experts suspect that the main reason for Bakhmut is that Moscow has not been able to report any real success since taking Mariupol, which had long resisted, at the end of May.
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If Ukrainian soldiers have their way, Putin allegedly throws his units to “certain death” here.
In an interview with
RadioFreeEurope
, they describe allegedly ineffective Russian tactics that are repeated endlessly.
Russian soldiers would therefore suffer high losses from Ukrainian artillery when advancing – for example from the heavy howitzer “Pion M-1975”.
But the next day, the Russian side simply sent more troops towards the city.
Ukraine War: Executions Inside the Russian Army?
Meanwhile, captured Russians say that their comrades face execution for desertion if they don't attack, the Ukrainian soldiers say.
A reporter from
RadioFreeEurope
reports in a video clip, apparently from the front: “Their tactics remain the same: a group of 10 to 15 soldiers tries to reach the Ukrainian positions and starts hand-to-hand combat.
If they are spotted approaching, they will be destroyed by Ukrainian artillery.”
Bakhmut: Ukrainian soldiers fire Pion M-1975 howitzer at Russian positions.
© Libkos/AP/dpa
Bakhmut: Important cornerstone of defense in eastern Ukraine
The Ukrainian artillery positions in the rear would help their infantry push back the attackers with constant barrage.
Because: Bakhmut is of enormous strategic importance for the Ukrainian armed forces.
According to the
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ)
, the small town is considered a cornerstone of the defense system around the last Ukrainian-held conurbation in the Donbass.
Should Bakhmut fall, the way for Russian troops towards the cities of Sloviansk (population around 110,000) and Kramatorsk (population around 160,000) would be largely clear.
According to the ARD "Tagesschau" the headquarters of the Ukrainian troops are located in the east between these two cities.
From here, the advance of the attackers in the direction of the Dnieper will be stopped, and thus into the center of the country and towards Kyiv.
The blood toll is evidently high.
Bachmut: Wave after wave of Russian attacks smashes over Ukrainian defenders
A Ukrainian soldier told
RadioFreeEurope
: “Our boys hold the lines and even liberate parts of the country that have been occupied.
It's tough, but the guys are heroes and are persevering, despite the cold weather and humidity.” If one attack wave was destroyed, Russian commanders would send the next after it, the report said, which cannot be independently verified .
"It's a cruel fight": A Ukrainian soldier describes the battle for Bakhmut in an interview with RadioFreeEurope.
© Screenshot RadioFreeEurope
The aforementioned soldier explains: “It is a cruel fight.
I'll give you a video of them climbing over the bodies.
There's a guy in the ditch between bodies.
He just sits there, smokes and prepares to die.
(...) Their own commanders would kill them if they didn't attack.
We spoke to prisoners of war who said that executions were normal for them.” According to the report, the Russian soldiers would be sent to “certain death” one way or another.
(pm)
