Russian Tanks, Artillery Bombard Bakhmut Area As Trench Fighting Rages On

The Russian army has continued its assault on the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut in a battle reminiscent of the trench warfare seen in World War I, with neither side giving an inch in what has been a bloody stalemate between the two sides.

In a Thursday Facebook post, the General Staff of the Ukrainian army reported yet another day of artillery and tank bombardment on the former city of 70,000, which now sits largely abandoned following a brutal campaign by invading Russian forces dating back to the height of summer.

Around the city, shelling was reported in more than two dozen different settlements, while recent days have seen unsuccessful advances from Russian forces on critical infrastructure in the region. Smaller detachments of Ukrainian troops, meanwhile, have engaged the Russians in spurts of urban warfare, laying down machine gun fire from trenches and the interior of burned-out buildings.

The fighting itself has been brutal, belying the salt mining town's otherwise minor strategic importance for either side. Artillery strikes in the region had been playing out day and night, with Ukraine deploying the use of thermal cameras to snuff out the Russian advances before they have the opportunity to attack.

And in the trenches scarring the surrounding landscape, a constant chatter of gunfire and artillery blasts echo across the snow-covered plains as tank-accompanied regiments advance toward the Russian positions in gains of what U.S. Defense officials have described as movements of meters, rather than miles.

Other videos from the city depict soldiers under a constant barrage of artillery fire from the Russian side, shaking the city and turning buildings and other fortifications into gravel.

For the Ukrainians, holding the city would be to deny the enemy their deepest occupied position since the start of the Russian-Ukraine war nearly a decade ago.

For the Russians—particularly, for the Wagner Group-affiliated mercenaries leading the fight—taking Bakhmut would provide their army with improved morale following a string of defeats in major population centers like Kherson, which Ukraine liberated from Russian control last month. And while some Russian sources have claimed victory there is imminent, others are not convinced.

Yuriy Sak, an adviser to Ukraine's minister of defense, told CNBC Wednesday that the city was "undoubtedly one of the key hotspots" in the ongoing war while casting off enemy assertions that their seizure of the city was imminent against heavy casualties there.

The Institute for the Study of War also cast doubts on the Russian claims in their assessment of the situation there, saying the Russian encirclement of the city was far from imminent.

It is still unclear how many casualties have been incurred by either side in the battle so far. While Russia has not reported casualties from the region, Ukraine has claimed as many as 10,000 killed between an escalation of fighting in September through the final week of November.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Defense reported 560 additional Russian soldiers had been killed overnight nationwide in its latest reported figures Thursday morning.

Newsweek has contacted the Russian Foreign Ministry for comment.