Nicolas Tonev (in Bakhmout), edited by Yanis Darras
Fighting intensifies between Ukrainians and Russians for control over the city of Bakhmout, in eastern Ukraine. In the coveted city, still in the hands of kyiv, the military are everywhere and civilian life gradually disappears as the Russians advance.
Will the city of Bakhmout fall into Russian hands within a few months? This is what the paramilitary group Wagner hopes, which estimates that the Ukrainian city will be taken by spring. But the Ukrainians do not want to let the commune down, despite the slow but gradual advance of enemy troops.
Disappearance of civilian life
So, the more the days pass, the more the city and its surroundings resemble a gigantic garrison. The queues at service stations are mainly made up of military vehicles, in supermarkets more and more groups of soldiers come to get supplies, sometimes walking around with their weapons on the shelves.
In the streets, children are absent from the public space. In recent days, civilian life has become a rarity on the streets. On the spot, the journalists are interrogated several times by locals, to have information on the advance of the front, on the resistance of the Ukrainians against the Russians, and to try to have estimates on the number of days before the locality falls in the hands of opposing soldiers.
A decline envisaged in the region?
Proof that concern is winning over the civilian population. So those who have decided to stay can only see the high-speed militarization of the area. Trenches are dug between the city and Kramatorsk, the regional capital. Armored vehicles are positioned along the roads, under the cover of the trees.
So many signs that seem to indicate that the Ukrainian army is considering, among its scenarios, a possible retreat in the region.