TO Vladimir Putin I love parades. When invaded Ukraine On February 24 last year, he hoped that the “special operation” would lead to a quick victory and a military parade in Kyiv. He later hoped that his annual May 9 Victory in Europe parade would coincide with the fall of Mariupol, a port city on the Sea of ​​Azov. But Ukraine ruined his plans.

This year’s parade looks doomed: On May 3, Russia said it shot down two Ukrainian drones that were aiming at the Kremlin itself. (Ukraine denies responsibility). Putin’s goal this year is smaller than Mariupol and still hasn’t been reached. For more than a decade, Russia has been trying to capture Bakhmut, a city in the east of Donbass with a population of 70,000. The intensity of the fighting shows that the Russian generals are desperate to turn the city over to the Kremlin by May 9 – no matter what. On May 1, the White House announced that more than 20,000 Russians had been killed in Bakhmut since December alone.

The Battle of Bahamut evokes memories of World War I when the fighting took place in the trenches, as well as artillery fire or rocket launches over a minefield known as a “meat grinder”.

In the event of a Russian victory at Bakhmut, the named cities it would be within range of the Russian artillery.

For Ukraine, the loss of Bakhmut may demoralize its forces, but does not significantly change the strategic picture, as its allies claim.

As a sign of how important Kyiv considers Bakhmut, Zelenskiy presented the U.S. Congress with a flag signed by the city’s defenders when he visited the United States in December.