Weary But Not Beaten: Ukrainian Soldiers Return From Bakhmut To Fight Another Day

The muddied face of a Ukrainian soldier who returned from combat close to Bakhmut on April 15.

Kyiv's fighters are still holding the beleaguered eastern city of Bakhmut despite intensely brutal combat between Ukrainian and Russian military forces.

As the intense fighting continues unabated, Kyiv's forces are rotating their troops out to an undisclosed location to give them some much-needed downtime to rest and recuperate before being sent back into combat.

Russia's Defense Ministry said on April 16 that Wagner mercenary units had captured two more city blocks in the northwest and southeastern parts of Bakhmut. The claim could not be independently verified.

"Bloody battles unprecedented in recent decades are taking place in the middle of the city's urban area," said Serhiy Cherevatiy, a spokesperson for Ukraine's eastern military command.

"Our soldiers are doing everything in bloody and fierce battles to grind down (the enemy's) combat capability and break its morale. Every day, in every corner of this city, they are successfully doing so," he told the 1+1 television channel.

An image depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin's head impaled on a Ukrainian trident is seen on a patch worn by a soldier who had just returned from Bakhmut.

A German shepherd named Bas accompanies the "Edelweiss" mortar unit after their return from heavy fighting close to Bakhmut. The unit rescued the dog during a mission near Kyiv last summer, and ever since, it has traveled with them to different places of duty along the front lines.
 

Kyiv admits that its forces have paid a heavy price in manpower and materials in defending "Fortress Bakhmut," a city that held around 70,000 people before the war. The brutal confrontation is being called the bloodiest infantry battle since World War II.

Ukrainian soldiers rest inside their hideout on April 14.

Though taking control of the Bakhmut "meat grinder," where thousands of soldiers are estimated to have been killed on both sides, would be a largely symbolic victory for Moscow, it would allow its forces to focus on Ukrainian garrisons around Chasiv Yar and deeper in the Donetsk region, where Kramatorsk and Slovyansk await.

Unused mortar shells are seen near a cooking area.

Ukrainian soldiers prepare meals in their hideout.

 

Religious icons adorn the wall where Ukrainian soldiers are resting.

A Ukrainian serviceman smokes a cigarette after returning from heavy fighting near Bakhmut on April 15.

Ukraine has indicated that it will soon launch a counteroffensive to take back more territory. Its start has been delayed, however, due to a combination of factors, including weather, slow equipment deliveries, and an insufficient amount of ammunition, Kyiv said.