Videos have surfaced on social media showing dramatic trench battles between Ukrainian and Russian soldiers for control of the so-called “road of life” to Bakhmut, the only road that can still supply Kyiv’s troops in the besieged city.

A central element of the fighting here is an attempt to control the trenches around the supply route, the Bakhmut-Listiansk highway, with Ukrainian and Russian forces constantly attacking and counter-attacking to gain the best possible position along it.

Two video recordings made by fighters of the 3rd brigade of the Kyiv Airborne Forces captured part of these battles, the images show that the famous “rasputitsa” – the rainy season, which turns roads and trenches into a muddy quagmire, has passed somewhat partially.

The Ukrainian military is believed to be waiting for improved weather conditions to launch a long-awaited offensive against the Russian occupiers, a fact also noted by the US Institute for the Study of War in its latest assessment of the conflict in Ukraine.

The new footage comes after another video last week, which captured even more dramatic moments during the battles for the “road of life”, filmed by fighters of the “Da Vinci Wolves” unit of the Ukrainian army.

Russian soldiers resorted to new tactics inside Bakhmut

In the town of Bakhmut itself, Russian troops resorted to a new tactic to try to advance into the town, which they had been unsuccessfully trying to capture since early August last year.

“Commanders of amphibious assault groups use smartphones with special software “Alpine Quest GPS”, which contains the coordinates of the positions of our firearms, targets of attack, routes of advancement to them, as well as combat tasks of neighboring units,” said General Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of the Eastern Group of the Armed Forces .

Sirskyi, who is considered the most successful Ukrainian commander, explained this Tuesday that separate assault units were formed in each Russian brigade, which were intended to quickly recapture lost positions.

He stated that “the enemy is actively using tank and artillery units, causing significant damage to our troops, destroying positions, after which the airborne assault units go on the attack.”

“During assault operations, the occupiers always use drones to adjust artillery fire, and the group commander has the ability to effectively control subordinate personnel. Usually they attack in waves of 3-4,” the Ukrainian commander said, adding that “the losses of the assault group are quickly replenished” at the expense of reserve servicemen.

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