BAKHMUT: Days are spent under a hail of shells, and night brings no respite for Ukrainian soldiers as enemy forces draw ever closer in Bakhmut, one of the last towns where Russian troops are still advancing.

The metallic boom of shelling echoes across the hills surrounding the small town, home to 70,000 people before the war.

Russia has been falling back in its offensive — but in Bakhmut, unlike across most of the front line, Ukrainians are on the defensive.

They face the “most difficult” challenges, President Volodymyr Zelensky said this weekend.

Ukrainian troops still control the northern and western parts of the city.

Metal crosses and blocks of concrete mark the Ukrainian front line, dubbed “point zero”. No one is allowed past.

Around it, in the “grey zone”, Russia is on the offensive.

Pro-Russian separatist forces have pressed ahead east and south of Bakhmut, relying on their base in the city of Donetsk, about 100 kilometres away.

On Thursday, they said they recaptured two neighbouring villages, Opytine and Ivangrad.

Close combat

The retaking of the two villages raised fears that Russian forces, including Wagner paramilitary units, may have infiltrated the eastern part of the city, according to a British intelligence note.

On the ground, Ukrainian soldiers said there was now close combat with members of pro-Russian forces.

Enemy troops “start when night falls. They send their reconnaissance units around 6 pm,” said one soldier who uses the nom de guerre, Poliak.

In a bitter tone of voice, the 50-year-old from the 93rd brigade said inexperienced, “single use” soldiers are sent into the line of fire to “divert” attention from more experienced units carrying out sabotage.

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2022