‘Bakhmut Trap’: Ukrainian Advances Vindicate Defense of Besieged City

For months, Ukrainian troops in the eastern city of Bakhmut have been on the defensive, hunkering in basements and inching backward in the face of withering artillery fire and waves of infantry assaults.

Last week, Ukraine launched surprise counterattacks that regained several square miles of land on the western outskirts of the city, easing Russia’s chokehold on critical supply routes.

Russian forces have hit back hard, retaining control of the vast majority of Bakhmut, which has been all but leveled by months of fighting.

But Ukrainian commanders say the recent advances are proof that their strategy—to hold on to the city for as long as possible—is paying off. The goal, they say, has been to engage and exhaust the Russian forces as Ukraine prepares for its own offensive elsewhere. Ukraine’s deputy defense minister said Monday that the Russians had sent additional units to the city’s outskirts following the Ukrainian gains.