'We're Tired': Ukraine's Exhausted Forces Hold Their Positions In The Battlefield City Of Bakhmut
Ukrainian soldiers patrol the devastated frontline city of Bakhmut on April 23. Russian forces unleashed more assault waves over the past day but neither side managed to make critical advances in the monthslong battle for the shattered city, the Ukrainian military said on April 25.
Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar described the ongoing fighting in Bakhmut as a "continuous dynamic process."
Malyar said on Telegram on April 25: "We can lose positions in battle today, and regain them the next day; that is why the military prefers to talk about the result after the operation is over."
A Ukrainian soldier runs for cover from Russian shelling in Bakhmut.
Ukrainian soldiers rest in a dimly lit and cramped basement as artillery rumbles above.
"We're tired," said a deputy battalion commander whose call sign is Philosopher. "Little by little, (Russian forces) are nibbling away little pieces."
"On our side, we're tired. People are exhausted," Philosopher told AFP, describing how his forces from the 93rd Brigade were coming within just three meters of Russian troops while under a constant barrage of artillery, mortar, and tank fire.
Military paramedics treat a wounded Ukrainian soldier.
"Each day we resist here gives more opportunities for other units to prepare for a counterattack," Philosopher added. "Our vulnerability is that we are starved for shells."
Kyiv's fighters are still able to resupply their troops in the beleaguered city from nearby Chasiv Yar via "the Road of Life," where burnt-out vehicles and craters mark the muddied and devastated landscape.
"If you cut (the road), everyone in Bakhmut is dead. No supplies. No ammunition. No food. Nothing. It would be completely cut off," a soldier told AFP while his crew stacked rows of newly delivered shells.
A Ukrainian soldier walks near residential buildings in Bakhmut damaged by shelling.
Smoke rises over the ruins of Bakhmut. A 38-year-old infantryman named Andriy said: "There are no buildings left. Everything, everything, everything is completely destroyed. It will have to be demolished anyway."
Ukrainian soldiers from the Aidar Assault Battalion said they need advanced artillery and ammunition to match and outgun Russian forces if they are to succeed in fending off encirclement.
Ukrainian soldiers carry an injured comrade.
Kyiv admits that its forces have paid a heavy price defending "Fortress Bakhmut," a city that held around 70,000 people before the Russian invasion.
A soldier salutes the victory sign from a colleague in Ukrainian-controlled western Bakhmut.
Analysts believe Bakhmut holds little strategic value but has acquired political significance as both sides continue the bloodiest infantry battle since World War II.