After the best part of a year, Russia has claimed victory in the meat-grinder that was the Battle of Bakhmut in Ukraine’s east. But the battle achieved virtually none of Russia’s original strategic objectives and came at a cost of Russian lives, estimated by Wagner Group boss, Yevgeny Prigozhin, as more than 20,000 of his men (other sources see these as conservative estimates and that the “butcher’s bill” was far higher).
You’d be inclined to agree with the description proffered by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) that this was a “pyrrhic victory”.
Meanwhile Ukrainian forces continue to launch counterattacks in the area – so Russia’s confidence could well prove to be misplaced. And the battle has caused a great deal of friction between the regular army, the Wagner Group and some of the hardline Russian commentators.
