Ukrainian forces running out of shells, equipment in fight for Bakhmut

READ OF THE DAY

Ukrainian forces running out of shells, equipment in fight for Bakhmut
By Caleb Larson
Sunday, Mar 19
Artyom, left, and Yvgeny, a two-main sniper team, take part in a training session near Kramatorsk, Ukraine. The fighting differs significantly from last year, they said. Although they are highly trained, they’ve had few opportunities to shoot at long-range in the past six months. (Caleb Larson/Special to Military Times)

NEAR BAKHMUT, UKRAINE — Russian forces spearheaded by the infamous Wagner private military group are steadily wearing down the last holdouts in the city of Bakhmut, with the nearly encircled Ukrainians taking heavy casualties and running out of firepower, after a monthslong fight.

British and American legionnaires with Ukraine’s International Legion who just left Bakhmut tell Military Times that Ukrainian forces lack the basics — mechanized vehicles and artillery ammunition — to keep up the fight, with the Russians slowly squeezing the city in a north-south pincer movement. But Ukraine’s high command refuses to abandon the city, counting on the grinding warfare to bleed Russian manpower and materiel, kneecapping any wider Russian spring offensive.

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