Video Shows Heavy Combat in Bakhmut as Russia Goes 'Scorched Earth'

A video emerged on social media Tuesday showing the intensifying conflict in Bakhmut, Ukraine, where Russian forces have reportedly gone "scorched earth."

Bakhmut is a city in the Eastern Ukrainian region of Donestk, one of the four that Russia attempted to annex last year. Despite Russia's insistence on claiming the region, critical cities in Donetsk remain under the control of Ukrainian forces, resulting in some of the most intense fighting in the country since Russia's invasion began.

While some entities have assessed that Bakhmut possesses little strategic value, Russia remains dedicated to the battle there in its attempt to take full control of the Donetsk Region. Ukraine has also repeatedly affirmed its dedication to holding the area, though recent reports have suggested that its hold is weakening.

On Tuesday, the Belarusian news outlet Nexta, which has reported extensively on the war in Ukraine, shared a clip on Twitter from the State Border Service of Ukraine giving an on-the-ground glimpse of the battle in Bakhmut.

As the short clip begins, soldiers can be seen walking through what appears to be a residential area, strewn with debris and partially destroyed buildings. Attempting to pass through a crumbling wall, they are driven to flee when an explosion rocks the area ahead of them.

The video cuts to a series of other instances showing soldiers engaged in combat, across yet more corridors littered with debris. One soldier can be seen launching a rocket, while another shot later provides a POV glimpse of a soldier firing at the enemy from around a corner.

In an address earlier last week, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrsky, the commander of Ukraine's ground forces in Ukraine, said that the Russian invaders had "switched to so-called scorched earth tactics" which they previously crafted during military engagements in Syria.

These tactics involve the destruction of infrastructure and other key resources that might be of use to the Ukrainian forces defending the city, and the battle for Bakhmut has not been the first time that Ukraine has accused Russia of going "scorched earth."

Elsewhere in Donetsk, Russian forces are also sacrificing considerable resources to the abandoned and decimated city of Marinka, which has several roads that could serve as key supply lines to Bakhmut, as well as to the region's capital city, which Russia has long had control of. Like Bakhmut, the city is considered to be of little overall value beyond those supply lines, underlying Russia's overwhelming focus on taking control of Donetsk.

"Russia continues to give a high priority to resourcing operations in the broader Donetsk sector, including the Marinka and Avdiivka areas, expending significant resources for minimal gains," a recent report from the British Ministry of Defense said.