Nicolas Tonev (special envoy in the Donbass), edited by Gauthier Delomez
Ten days before the anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, fighting in Bakhmout, a key city in the Donbass, continues intensely. The special envoy of Europe 1 went there and describes violent fighting on two sides of the city, where the danger is omnipresent.
The city of Bakhmout in the Donbass is still at the center of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. For Kiev, it is symbolically out of the question to give in to this area in the east of the country, and ten days before the anniversary date of the Russian invasion, on February 24, the battle there is more active than ever. . On the spot, the special envoy of Europe 1 describes that there is only one access road left to the city on the Ukrainian side.
The Russian forces are also capable of reaching it with artillery blows over ten kilometers from the town of Chassiv Yar. The special envoy says that by taking this road, he witnessed incessant shooting, from above, intended to hit further. A house was on fire on the way, and rockets hit other houses along the road.
An uphill battle on both sides
There are also the Ukrainian responses, from their hidden positions around. In fact, these are targeted. An area which is therefore dangerous because not only do we not see these positions, but in addition, a rocket salvo sent over it is not at all precise. In Bakhmout, the special envoy of Europe 1 also attended a lot of exchanges. According to him, not 30 seconds pass without a detonation of departure or arrival, with all the possible sounds of guns, mortars, rockets…
Ultimately, it’s a very tough battle on both sides to hope to win the decision.