It used to be that visitors would browse through Bakhmut's late 19th century buildings, enjoy their walks in its rose-lined lakeside park and revel in the sparkling wines produced in historic underground caves. This city of salt and gypsum mines located around 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Russia’s border was once a popular tourist destination in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk province.
No more. The longest battle of the war in Ukraine has turned Bakhmut into a ghost city. Despite bombing, shelling and attempts to encircle the city for six months, Russia's forces have not conquered it. But their scorched-earth tactics have made it impossible for civilians to have any semblance of life there.
