The war in Ukraine has been raging for over a year, and the city of Bakhmut has been at the center of it. Drone footage taken by The New York Times shows the devastating destruction of the city, with scorched buildings, destroyed schools, and cratered parks. The Russians are declaring victory in this battle, but the Ukrainians are still fighting to drive the Russians from the ruins.
The city of nearly 80,000 has been reduced to ashes, with only a few remaining civilians trying to find a safe path. President Biden has estimated that around 100,000 Russian soldiers were killed and wounded in the battle for Bakhmut, and Ukraine has suffered grievous losses as well.
The New York Times visited Bakhmut in December and found that the few remaining residents mostly lived in basement bunkers. As the Russians advanced slowly, block by block, razing many buildings to their foundations, the Ukrainians were largely confined to a patch of land smaller than Central Park.
Two murals painted on the walls of high-rise buildings in 2020 offered the residents a sense of solace, but one of them is now gone along with the multistory building that served as its canvas. The other mural still stands, but the building is now empty, battered, and lifeless, like the city itself.