The honor guard is deployed in front of a jeep that has just parked in front of the door of the always impressive Monastery of San Miguel with its golden domes. Following the ritual, they lift the coffin and, as if following the beat of the bells that resound at that time in the center of Kyiv, they transport it to the interior of the basilica in the middle of a path of honor made up of civilians but especially members of the battalion. Da Vinci’s wolves, which adorn the passage of their commander with black flags. Each bears the logo of this battalion named after Dmitró Kotsiubailo, or Da Vinci, who died in the battle for Bakhmut on March 7. An atypical tribute for a 27-year-old who began as a volunteer at 18 in the Maidan revolution, linked to one of the far-right groups, the Right Sector, and who quickly ended up on the Donbass front, where he fought for the last nine years. President Zelensky declared him Hero of Ukraine 2021 and the army recently made him a non-commissioned officer without going through the academy.
That same Friday, and in a much less pompous ceremony, Oleh and Mykyta Jomiuk, father and son who also died in Bakhmut, were buried elsewhere in Kyiv. And two days before, in Vinitsa, in the center of the country, her family fired Yana Rijlistska, 29, who worked as a paramedic on that same front.
“Right now I can’t be objective about Bakhmut. It is hard to say that we need to preserve the city, because for me it will be marked by a curse forever”, explained Violeta Kiertoka, a journalist for Censor.net, the last to interview Da Vinci. “I hope our commanders understand why it is important to continue to conserve it. I hope they have a plan, ”she concluded. “Bajmut for me is a point of no return… They must be stopped there before more cities are ruined,” said Igor, a soldier who accompanied Violeta.
The Ukrainian authorities do not reveal how many women and men have died in this battle, which, although it is the one that receives the most attention, is not the only one that is being fought in the Donbass. Some calculations speak of between 100 and 200 deaths in uniform every day. The head of National Security, Olef Danilov, assured that the ratio was one Ukrainian to seven Russians.
For months, the authorities claimed that the city had no military value and that the Russians, especially the Wagner paramilitary group, sought to take it as a matter of honor. Recently there was talk of a possible Ukrainian withdrawal to avoid further human losses. Ukraine has created strong defense lines nearby. But these versions have been changing, especially since the end of February, when the Russians surrounded the city on three flanks, seeking to enclose it, just as they did with Mariupol.
In an interview this week on CNN, President Zelensky assured that if they did not defend Bakhmut, the Russians could quickly reach cities like Konstyantinivka or Kramatorsk. “We hope we don’t have to leave but we will if (the front line) comes to us,” he said.
“It is a fight that we have to fight now or in another place where even more people can die. It’s better to give it up right now,” Yuri, who is part of one of the brigades fighting inside Bakhmut, confirmed via text message on Friday. Despite his conviction, he describes the situation inside the city as “hell, Russia controls the east and there are man-to-man fights”. Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar confirmed on Friday that the Russians are trying to break through defense lines.
You only have to see the faces, with lost looks, of some of the men who are fortunate enough to return from their shifts in Bakhmut to understand what has been going on for weeks. “We have all lost many comrades and have seen others descend into hell where they lose the will to fight,” said a soldier who gave his name as Maxy, who has been fighting in Donbass since May. He has suffered three concussions and cannot see clearly at night. The endless fighting against waves of men that the Russians send into the attack, the incessant artillery attacks, the constant death of comrades plus the cold of winter have greatly affected many of the men on the front lines. “It’s much tougher than you imagine, but it’s the only option we have for victory,” stated Max.
Many military analysts warned that Ukraine may be making a mistake by sacrificing trained and valuable men. But the situation seems to have changed in recent days. The same analysts have begun to say that Moscow is changing tack. In an interview with the Italian newspaper La Stampa, presidential adviser Mikhailo Podoliak said that Russia had assembled some of its trained personnel for the battle. “We have two goals: reduce their manpower as much as possible, disrupt their offensive, and focus our resources elsewhere for the spring counteroffensive. That is why today Bakhmut is completely effective”, explained Podoliak.
Ukraine does not deny that its ultimate goal is the spring counteroffensive, when the weapons and ammunition promised by its Western partners arrive. Some wonder if the ferocity of the Bakhmut battle will leave the army fit to do so. “This is not the time to ask the question. The history books will tell. There are many things that are not public, only our commanders know what they are doing, ”concludes one of DaVinci’s colleagues who does not give his name.
