The city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk oblast of Ukraine was embroiled in the world’s most brutal conventional warfare since World War Two. The initial battle saw a ten-month grind by the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, with Ministry of Defense (MOD) support at the cost of tens of thousands of casualties.

Bakhmut today has been reduced to rubble as Russia’s infamous carpet bombing tactics leveled what’s left of the city to the ground. Despite the victory gained by Russia, it has become evident that it was pyrrhic at most as Ukraine has counterattacked around the city.

The ongoing counteroffensive has seen Ukraine grind through the strategic heights of Bakhmut, and due to the Kremlin propagandizing the city, Russia now faces continuous nightmares where they wasted vast combat power to retain.