Russia Turned Bakhmut Into A 'Meat Grinder' City, Living Conditions Are 'Terrible': Volunteer

Bakhmut, a Ukrainian city in Donetsk Oblast, has been turned into a "meat grinder" as the Russian army makes repeated attempts to retake it from Ukrainian control, according to a report.

Speaking to The Kyiv Post, a soldier turned volunteer said the Ukrainian army is repelling at least 10 Russian attacks per day. The volunteer noted that the attacks are being carried out by newly mobilized Russian men who are untrained and unprepared.

In addition, the volunteer also said the Russian army fires missiles at Bakhmut every day, hitting residential buildings, schools, and kindergartens. The attacks have forced the city's residents to live in basements.

"The massacre in Bakhmut has been going on for months, it's a meat grinder," the volunteer said, adding, "The living conditions there are terrible. There are no windows or doors in the houses."

The city has been vastly depopulated by months of shelling as Russia continues to make attempts to retake the city from Ukrainian forces. Once home to 70,000 residents, only 15,000 people now remain in the city.

In addition to Russian shelling, the volunteer said Bakhmut residents lack access to water or medicine. There are also not enough stoves and heaters for residents to use, forcing some to cook their food on the streets, where they are exposed to harsh climates.

"There is no water - everyone looks dirty, and their clothes are very worn and disease-ridden. I saw people and children with wounds, rotting flesh in their arms and legs," the volunteer said. "There is shelling, flying glass, and pieces of slate. People are wounded, and there is no medicine to heal wounds."

The volunteer's remarks about Bakhmut echo comments made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last Saturday, where he accused the Russian army of turning the city into "burnt ruins."

Bakhmut's destruction and the constant shelling it is experiencing comes as the Russian army looks to take full control of the regions it has annexed, namely Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk.

In contrast, Ukraine has launched a counteroffensive operation in hopes of reclaiming and liberating territories that Russia has temporarily occupied in the war, as per The Guardian.