The Obliteration Of Bakhmut: New Satellite Photos Reveal A City Of Smoldering Ruins

An overview of Bakhmut taken on May 8, 2022.

The same scene in a satellite image taken on May 15, 2023.

Russian forces launched 55 attacks on Ukrainian positions on Bakhmut over the past day, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said in its daily bulletin on May 17.

School No. 12 and apartment buildings in Bakhmut on May 8, 2022.

The same scene on May 15, 2023.

On May 16, Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said Ukraine had recaptured some 20 square kilometers from Russian forces on the flanks of Bakhmut but had ceded more ground in the center of the city.

"At the same time, the enemy is advancing to some degree inside Bakhmut itself and is utterly destroying the city with artillery," Malyar said on social media.

Homes and buildings in Bakhmut as seen on May 8, 2022.

Burning homes and destroyed buildings on May 15, 2023.

"The defense of Bakhmut continues and recent days have shown that Ukraine can move forward and counter the Russian forces there," Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskiy said on May 15. "The advance of our troops along the Bakhmut direction -- that is the first successful offensive operation in the city's defense."

The Bakhmut Theatre and nearby shops as seen on May 8, 2022.

In a satellite image from May 15, 2023, the Bakhmut Theatre and the surrounding area can be seen in ruins.

"The last few days have shown that we can move forward and destroy the enemy even in such extremely difficult conditions," Syrskiy said. "The operation to defend Bakhmut continues. All necessary decisions for the defense have been made."

A Bakhmut school and apartment buildings as seen on May 8, 2022.

A demolished school and smoldering apartment buildings as seen on May 15, 2023.

"Across the city, rows of apartment buildings, schools, stores and other infrastructure have been reduced to smoldering rubble and parts of the city that had been lined with trees and parks a year ago are now completely stripped of all vegetation and are covered by brown/red dust and debris," says Maxar Technologies, which took these images.

University buildings and a radio tower as seen on May 8, 2022.

The same scene a little more than a year later, on May 15, 2023.

The brutal fighting for the city over the past months has resulted in heavy casualties on both sides, despite military experts questioning the strategic value of the city for Russia.