Social media videos indicate Russian troops are taking heavy casualties in the areas around Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk region, even as they take some territory, particularly in the south of the city.
Some videos of Ukrainian military drones show Russian soldiers being targeted by drone-dropped explosive charges in pits and trenches. Other videos on the ground showed bodies of Russian soldiers being dumped in the countryside.
A video shot by the Ukrainian military and published on Telegram shows various weapon systems being used in a coordinated assault on Russian positions, including 155 mm howitzers and mortars. From some videos it appears that the Russian positions have little protection and appear to be in open countryside.
The Russian army has been attacking the area around Bakhmut for months – and has only recently sent forward newly organized but less experienced units.
Some Russian units – including those affiliated with the Wagner Group – appear to be making incremental progress by taking a string of small villages south of the city. On Thursday the Russian Defense Ministry said that, “As a result of the offensive actions of Russian troops, the settlement of Kurdyamivka of the Donetsk People’s Republic was completely liberated from units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.”
The Defense Ministry had previously announced the capture of three other settlements—but all are small villages.
What Ukraine is saying: Ukrainians say fighting continues in the area, and that during combat operations near Kurdiyovka, Ukrainian forces destroyed three ammunition depots, a mortar crew “and enemy manpower”.
Analysts say Ukrainians are also apparently suffering casualties as they are targeted by Russian artillery and tanks. Ukraine’s military said fighting continued in several areas near Bakhmut, but did not admit to having lost any ground.
The Ukrainian National Guard said that over the past week, units had repelled enemy attacks in the Bakhmut and Avdeevka areas of the Donetsk region and “destroyed enemy ammunition depots, equipment and personnel.”
Its spokesman said that in the attacks near the north-eastern outskirts of Bakhmut, “enemy losses amounted to 79 soldiers, of whom 46 were irreplaceable.
A CNN team in nearby Kramatorsk reported hearing heavy artillery exchanges on Thursday.
In its latest analysis, the Institute for the Study of War says that the Russian campaign around Bakhmut indicates that “Russian forces have fundamentally failed to learn from previous high-casualty campaigns focused on objectives of limited operational or strategic importance”. “