Without Hesitation, Ukraine Goes Toe to Toe With Russia in Bakhmut

Russia and Ukraine are conducting one of the longest-running battles of the war in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. Shell craters are ubiquitous; the abandoned bodies of Russian soldiers lie about. “It looks like apocalypse,” one Ukrainian soldier said.

In an earlier phase of the war, Ukraine’s leadership was more equivocal about pitched battles with high casualties like Bakhmut. But there’s no second-guessing this time. Some analysts say it makes sense strategically. Read more

@nytimes