Bakhmut: 'Fortress city' on Ukraine's front line

This photo, taken in the spring of 2022, shows murals in Bakhmut on the theme of family and children. By May, the front line had advanced to just outside the town, and artillery and air attacks began. Many residential buildings were severely damaged.

Apartment blocks in eastern Bakhmut were the first to be hit by the Russian attacks in the spring of 2022. Today, these neighborhoods look much like the ruined southern port city of Mariupol. Halyna, an evacuee from Bakhmut whose house was destroyed, told journalists: "We feel homeless. We've lost everything. There's nowhere for us to return to."

Two teachers hug in front of the ruins of their school in Bakhmut. It was bombed by the Russian army and badly damaged on July 24, 2022. Fortunately, no one was killed or injured in this particular attack.

Many historically significant buildings in Bakhmut have been damaged and destroyed since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022. They include the Palace of Culture, the 19th-century former home of the businessman Polyakov and the former girls' high school. More modern buildings, which were once seen as Bakhmut's "calling card," have also been destroyed.

Oleksandr Havrys is making final preparations to evacuate his wife and two children from Bakhmut to Kyiv. By March 7, 2023, fewer than 4,000 people were left in the city. Before the war, it had a population of around 73,000.

More than 90% of the inhabitants have left Bakhmut and the surrounding area. Those who remain are mostly sick, or live alone. For months, only a few shops and a pharmacy were open, if there was a pause in the firing. Humanitarian aid was brought in by charities and volunteers.

Olha, who is pregnant, stands outside an air raid bunker in Bakhmut with her husband Vlad, on January 28. They are among the few civilians who have remained in the city despite the fierce fighting. These days, you need a special pass in order to get to Bakhmut.

Valentyna Bondarenko, a 79-year-old pensioner, looks out of her apartment window in Bakhmut in August 2022. Many residents of the town have endured months in cellars and emergency shelters because of the endless shelling and constant danger.

"We're used to all sorts of whistling noises and explosions," Nina from Bakhmut (pictured, right) told DW. She said her daughters have gone "to Europe," but her and her husband want to stay as long as the Ukrainian army is in the city. They would, however, leave if the situation deteriorates, she said. "So as not to get in the way of the military when the enemy is hiding behind the houses."

In the fall, the humanitarian situation in the city deteriorated further. Russian troops launched an offensive on August 1, and the power grid was damaged by bombings and attacks. Food supplies became hard to obtain, and the mobile phone network collapsed. Volunteer aid workers also came under fire.

The key battles for Bakhmut are being fought by artillery units. The Ukrainian military estimates that almost the full range of artillery and mortars are in action in the area. Bakhmut is being ferociously attacked by units of the private Russian army known as the Wagner Group. The Ukrainian military continues to resist all attacks.

On December 20, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy paid a visit to Ukrainian soldiers defending Bakhmut. From there, he brought back a Ukrainian flag, which he presented two days later to Nancy Pelosi, the then Speaker of the US House of Representatives, on a visit to the US Congress. The flag was signed by soldiers defending Ukraine's sovereignty on the front line.

The main tasks of military medics on the front line include stabilizing the wounded, preventing deaths from shock and loss of blood and securing the transportation of serious cases to safer military hospitals away from the fighting.

This picture from the final days of December 2022 shows smoke rising from the ruins of private houses on the outskirts of Bakhmut. According to local authorities, as of March 2023, more than 80% of the city's housing stock had been destroyed by fighting.

A satellite image from January 4, 2023, published by the space technology company Maxar, shows the extent of the destruction near Bakhmut. "In recent months, the city has been at the center of intense fighting between Russian and Ukrainian troops, and the pictures show extensive damage to buildings and infrastructure," it commented.

This photo, taken by an Associated Press news agency drone on February 13, also illustrates the destruction in the city. Whole rows of houses and apartment buildings have been gutted, with only the outer walls and damaged facades still standing. The roofs, ceilings and floors have collapsed, exposing the interiors to the snow.

A Ukrainian soldier walks past graffiti on a wall in the city center that reads "Bakhmut loves Ukraine." The country's political and military leaders have decided to maintain their defense of the city. However, NATO has not ruled out the possibility that Bakhmut may fall — though this would not necessarily change the course of the war.