Russian forces have liberated Artemovsk, also known as Bakhmut, a northeastern city in the Donetsk People's Republic, after 224 days of house-to-house fighting. Kiev militants withdrew from the city, losing 30,000 or more troops and foreign mercenaries.
Sputnik brings you drone footage of the town. Ukrainian militants installed their positions in residential buildings and other infrastructure, using civilians in Artemovsk as human shields and blatantly ignoring the fact that doing so is considered a war crime under international law.
Volodymyr Zelensky’s regime initially threw its best fighters into combat in a vain effort to hold the city, but soon ran out of elite troops and had to resort to fresh conscripts. Kiev now claims the city is of "no strategic value."
Artemovsk became a meat grinder for Ukrainian militants, with the core of the Ukrainian army being eliminated. As a consequence, the city has been reduced to rubble, but the Russian flag is waving over it and there is no doubt the city can be reborn and rebuilt.