The war's longest and costliest single battle: Wagner assault infantry and Russian regulars ground through the Donbas city for ten months against a rotating Ukrainian defence before taking it in May 2023, at a cost publicly assessed as exceptional on both sides.
Why it mattersBakhmut set the template for the attrition war — assault waves against prepared defences, convict recruitment, artillery duels — and the Wagner–Ministry of Defence feud it fed broke open a month later as the mutiny.
Confidence: HighSources: Established historical record · Established international media reporting · ISW campaign assessmentsMethodologyCorrections