As Russia vowed to respond “extremely harshly” to a rare, two-day border incursion by pro-Ukrainian fighters, the leader of Russia’s largest mercenary force warned that it faced further setbacks unless its ruling elite took drastic, and likely unpopular, measures to win the war. “The most likely scenario for us in a special operation would not […]
Tag: Bakhmut
As Ukraine Makes Inroads in Bakhmut, Devastation Still Reigns
With the furious battle for the city of Bakhmut raging at their backs, a squad of Ukrainian soldiers tore through an open field, racing to get out of range of falling Russian artillery. But before they could make it to safety, they said, they got a flat tire. The three soldiers — known by the […]
Ukraine’s Advances Near Bakhmut Expose Rifts in Russian Forces
The Ukrainian Army is advancing in attacks near the eastern city of Bakhmut, Ukrainian commanders said on Friday, in fighting that has shifted the front line only slightly but is exposing fissures, confusion and alarm among Russia’s forces in the war. Russia’s pro-war bloggers were quick to claim that Ukraine’s long-anticipated counteroffensive had begun, but […]
Ukraine Claims Gains Near Bakhmut: Live News Updates
President Salome Zourabichvili of Georgia called Mr. Putin’s decision “unacceptable” and a “provocation.”Credit…Tomasz Wiktor/EPA, via Shutterstock TBILISI, Georgia — President Vladimir V. Putin on Wednesday ordered the restoration of direct flights from Russia to the mountainous former Soviet republic of Georgia starting May 15 and abolished visa requirements for Georgian nationals, in the latest sign […]
Russian Wagner Leader Threatens to Pull Out of Bakhmut: Ukraine War Live News
The Kremlin is trying to muster the usual patriotic fervor that grips the country in the days before the May 9 Victory Day parade, but unease with Russia’s stumbling war in Ukraine keeps bursting forth. The latest manifestation came from Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner mercenary group, who used what he said were […]
What Soledar’s Salt, Lost in the Fight for Bakhmut, Means to Ukraine
“Salt gave us work and salt gave us life,” said Ruslan, a salt miner turned soldier. Ruslan, 45, was working 1,000 feet below the earth in one of Europe’s largest salt mines when the Russians launched their full-scale invasion. Almost a year later, he was fighting near the ruined city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine […]
Fight for Roads Into Bakhmut Has Hit a Stalemate, Ukraine Says
The seesaw fight for a sunflower field raged for weeks with neither Ukrainian nor Russian forces gaining an upper hand, but for Ukraine’s army, that counts as a win in the crucial battle for access roads into the city of Bakhmut. Inside the battered eastern Ukrainian city, the site of one of the longest-running battles […]
The Latest: War in Ukraine: Leader of Russian Mercenary Group Affirms Ukraine’s Hold on Bakhmut
BEIJING — President Emmanuel Macron of France and Xi Jinping, China’s top leader, appealed on Thursday for a rapid return to peace talks to end the war in Ukraine, but Mr. Xi did not indicate whether he would use his close relationship with Moscow to push Russia to negotiate. Greeted with great pomp at the […]
Thousands of Ukrainians Endure Dire Conditions Around Bakhmut, Aid Groups Say
Thousands of civilians remaining in the region around the city of Bakhmut — the site of a long, grueling battle in eastern Ukraine — are living in abject conditions with scant access to basic necessities, according to international aid workers. The fighting in and around Bakhmut has been the most violent of recent months and […]
Front Line Shifts in Russia and Ukraine’s Bakhmut Battle, Analysts Say
Ukraine insisted on Saturday that its forces were fending off relentless Russian attacks in Bakhmut, even as Western analysts said that Moscow’s forces had captured most of the embattled city’s east and established a new front line cutting through its center. Gradual Russian advances and a high number of Ukrainian casualties have fueled talk of […]