Bakhmut — which held around 70,000 people before the war — has been Russia's main target in a massive winter offensive that has so far yielded scant gains, despite infantry ground combat of an intensity unseen in Europe since World War II.
"The enemy is using its most professional units there and resorting to a significant amount of artillery and aviation. Every day, the enemy carries out in Bakhmut from 40 to 50 storming operations and 500 shelling episodes." Capturing the city would be Russia's first substantial victory in eight months. Ukraine — which is preparing for its own counter-offensive — had appeared likely to abandon Bakhmut at the end of February, but announced in March it would fight on there, saying Russia was taking higher casualties trying to storm it. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-14/ukraine-reports-unrelenting-russian-attacks-key-city-of-bakhmut/102226022
