Bakhmut has fallen

[ThirdTerm]

(Reuters) - Russia claimed on Saturday to have fully captured the smashed eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, which would mark an end to the longest and bloodiest battle of the 15-month war.

The assault on the largely levelled city was led by troops from the Wagner Group of mercenaries, whose leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said earlier in the day that his troops had finally pushed the Ukrainians out of the last built-up area inside the city.

Taking Bakhmut - which Russia refers to by its Soviet-era name of Artyomovsk - would represent Moscow's first big victory in the conflict in more than 10 months.

"As a result of offensive actions by Wagner assault units, supported by artillery and aviation of the Southern Group of Forces, the liberation of Artyomovsk has been completed," the Russian defence ministry said in a one-line statement.

Kyiv denied Prigozhin's claim earlier on Saturday, but did not have an immediate response to the defence ministry's statement.

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated troops on capturing the city and said those who had distinguished themselves would be given awards, domestic Russian news agencies reported.

The claims came after a week in which Ukrainian forces have made their most rapid gains for six months on Bakhmut's northern and southern flanks.

Prigozhin, who has repeatedly denounced Russia's regular military for abandoning ground captured earlier by his men, said his own forces would pull out of Bakhmut in five days to rest, handing the ruins over to the regular military.

"Today, at 12 noon, Bakhmut was completely taken," Prigozhin said in a video in which he appeared in combat fatigues in front of a line of fighters holding Russian flags and Wagner banners. "We completely took the whole city, from house to house."

The Russian defence ministry said the liberation of Artyomovsk
has been completed. Russia refers to Bakhmut by its Soviet-era name of Artyomovsk. Vladimir Putin congratulated troops on capturing the city.

Russia says Ukrainian city of Bakhmut captured

The assault on the largely levelled city was led by troops from the Wagner Group of mercenaries, whose leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said earlier in the day that his troops had finally pushed the Ukrainians out of the last built-up area inside the city. Taking Bakhmut - which Russia refers to by its...

news.yahoo.com

 

[Mushroom]

They've been saying "Bakhmut is falling" since January, they've been shelling it since last July.

What will happen next is what happened on the flanks. The VDV and Wagner "storm" units will be withdrawn and replaced with regular army troops, who are neither well trained or led, and they will be sent there to hold the positions without any backup.

The remaining Wagner and VDV will go to the rear and try to reconstitute in time to be useful for the upcoming AFU offensive.

If the AFU makes a little more gain in the north and south, the Russian troops in Bakhmut will be sitting ducks to AFU artillery, and the AFU counter artillery and air defenses can get back into the game.

And it looks like yet another Pyrrhic Victory for Russia. They have taken a town of no real strategic value at a cost much higher than it should have. Suffering between three and five times the number of casualties that Ukrainian forces have defending it. We are now 16 months in, and have had in the area of 200,000 casualties with little to show for it.

When one looks at the maps, it is obvious that they expected to largely walk in and take over the country with little effort, as they had done a rather complex 4 pronged attack along several fronts with a major one heading straight for Kiev.

If anybody can look at that map and call that "Russian Victory", you know for a fact they are full pure coprolite. I bet they expected invading Ukraine would be like most of their other invasions in the past, from Poland to Afghanistan. A quick victory with little losses, and a fast expansion of their territory. They sure as hell did not expect it to turn into another Winter War.

 

[Mushroom]

The Russian defence ministry said the liberation of Artyomovsk

One can not "liberate" a city they have not controlled in over 3 decades, and gave up voluntarily under no threat from anybody when their prior empire dissolved.

That is no different than Germany trying to claim it "liberated" Poland in WWII because it once controlled that territory.

 

[Ringo]

Dear Taiwan,
Look at Bakhmut
The United States has this planned for you next

 

[José]

Originally posted by Mushroom
One can not "liberate" a city they have not controlled in over 3 decades, and gave up voluntarily under no threat from anybody when their prior empire dissolved.

That is no different than Germany trying to claim it "liberated" Poland in WWII because it once controlled that territory.

Super patriotic american clowns don't get to decide which parts of Ukraine are liberated or not.

The people living there do and the people of Bakhmut expressed their discontent with the deposition of Yanukovich several times in giant protests in 2014 (giant for the size of the city).

 

[Ringo]

Ukrainians were trained for +8 years by NATO.
They received all sorts of NATO "game changer" weapons and intel, yet they were defeated by a private military company in Bakhmut.
Wagner single-handedly humiliated NATO.
So, now we understand what game Prigozhin was playing.
He said Wagner was short of ammo, and the flanks were crumbling.
He fooled Ukrainians to continue fighting, yet he massively bombed Bakhmut and continued to advance until the complete capture of the city. Well played!

 

[Litwin]

Dear Taiwan,
Look at Bakhmut
The United States has this planned for you next

your prostitutes speak



why they are not so happy sralin ?

 

[Litwin]

 

[EMH]

Ukraine needs you NOW!!!

Go over there and fight Russia!!!

Your credibility is ZERO here. Ukraine needs you, we do not...

 

[Blaster]

Geeze with all those biden sanctions in place you'd thought the russian would have been starving by now

‘Bakhmut Has Fallen!’ - Russian Forces on the Brink of Capturing Strategic Donbas City - Ukrainians Control Half a Square Mile - Last Stronghold Under Heavy Attack | The Gateway Pundit | by Paul Serran

Roughly two months ago, I published here on TGP a piece about how Ukrainian troops were put in an operational encirclement by the Russians in the Donbas city of Bakhmut/Artemovsk.

www.thegatewaypundit.com

Russia will win this war eventually. All the money and military equipment we sent to Ukraine will have no effect on the outcome.

 

[Silver Cat]

Russia will win this war eventually. All the money and military equipment we sent to Ukraine will have no effect on the outcome.

The only problem is what the Russians will get, and how much resources the USA will lost.

 

[The Duke]

Yesterday, I had no idea that Bakhmut existed ...

Today, I just don't care that it exists.

That's progress.

Ya know, I don't like that innocent people were killed there for no good reason.

 

[Ringo]

 

[AlexanderPK]

So I guess the Russians will be advancing directly to Warsaw now...
Hooray, we've taken the 58th largest city in Ukraine after only 9 months and about 40K casualties!

View attachment 787282

That means of course that the US army of fat faggots would do the job in a day, they are chomping at the bits but the rules based international order won't let them, right?