‘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...