Wagnergruppen lämnar Bachmut – armén tar över

The battle of Bakhmut is a series of military engagements in and near the city of Bakhmut between the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the Russian Armed Forces during the larger battle for Donbas. While the shelling of Bakhmut began in May 2022, the main assault towards the city started on 1 August after Russian forces advanced from the direction of Popasna following a Ukrainian withdrawal from that front. The main assault force primarily consists of mercenaries from the Russian paramilitary organization Wagner Group, supported by regular Russian troops and DPR and LPR separatist elements.As of late 2022, following Ukraine's Kharkiv and Kherson counteroffensives, the Bakhmut–Soledar front became an important focus of the war, being one of the few front lines in Ukraine where Russia remained on the offensive. Attacks on the city intensified in November 2022 as assaulting Russian forces were reinforced by units redeployed from the Kherson front, together with newly mobilized recruits. By this time, much of the front line had descended into positional trench warfare, with both sides suffering high casualties without any significant advances. By using human wave attacks composed by former convicts, Wagner troops were able to gradually gain ground, and by February 2023, they captured territory in the north and south of Bakhmut and threatened encirclement, forcing Ukrainian forces to slowly pull out into the city, and the battle turned into fierce urban warfare. By March 2023, Russian forces captured the eastern half of the city, up to the Bakhmutka river, and continued to advance into Ukrainian-controlled parts of Bakhmut. The intensity of the battle and the high number of casualties has been compared to the Battle of Verdun in World War I.On 20 May 2023, Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Russian defence ministry both claimed that Bakhmut was completely captured. Ukraine denied Prigozhin's claim and said heavy clashes for the city were ongoing, with the Ukrainian military rejecting Russia's claim of capturing the city.