It was a lesson too expensive for Ukraine.
So Bakhmut falls, and the war in Ukraine continues. The lesson is: Don’t hype a battle unless you know you can win.
The struggle for Bakhmut started in earnest last August. At the time, it was just one engagement on a fluid front. To the north, Ukraine’s Kharkiv counteroffensive kicked off in September, lasting about a month and retaking over 4,500 square miles. To the south, a two-month offensive recaptured over 900 square miles and liberated the strategically important city of Kherson, which had a prewar population four times that of Bakhmut.