Cauldron/Vortex.

This is coolbert:

"No significant movement on the front lines since the taking of Kherson on 11 November. There is lots of fighting around Bakhmut. Russian has taken the village last week of Andriivka (Bakhmut Oblast) to the south of Bakhmut. Also, some fighting around Pavlivka. Russia does appear to be seriously trying to take Bakhmut, perhaps by flanking it from the south. If they do, this will give them some bragging rights, but it is not particularly significant militarily. It is just a point on a line, and the line can continue behind that point." "Mystics and Skeptics" | 5 December.

A mini-Verdun the Ukraine Conflict? The Ukrainian city of Bakhmut and environs continuous combat since May unabated.

"AMERICAN VETERANS FROM THE MOZART GROUP CONFIRM THE CRITICAL SITUATION OF UKRAINIAN TROOPS IN BAKHMUT"

From the Internet web site "South Front" 9 December 2022."South Front" as fully understood very pro-Russian.

"The situation near Bakhmut could be a disaster for the Ukrainian army. More evidence shows heavy losses of manpower and vehicles in the AFU [Armed Forces Ukraine], while the Ukrainian command is still unable to stabilize the front line."

"A New York Times article in late November describes overcrowded hospitals, while Ukraine has sent 'floods of reinforcements'. According to soldiers and locals, Bakhmut 'has become a destructive vortex' for the AFU and fighters of the Ukrainian International Legion. Foreign operatives leading the counterattack near Kharkov and Kherson are also suffering casualties and speak of a worsening scenario for Ukrainian troops. According to the Ukrainian embassy in Georgia, six Georgian mercenaries have been reported killed in the area in the past week alone."

As at Verdun for the German and French; Bakhmut too now an endless meat-grinder for the Ukrainian and Russian both. "Bragging right" yes to the victorious but the cost too great. Whatever the gain offset by the expenditure in men and material.

See prior blog entry the Mozart Group involvement in the Ukraine Conflict:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2022/05/mozart.html

See also additional "South Front" report the Bakhmut situation as dated 8 December 2022:

https://southfront.org/ukrainian-defense-in-bakhmut-on-verge-of-collapse/

coolbert.