Satellite Imagery Reveals Horrific Scale of Russia’s Destruction of Bakhmut

Satellite imagery released by Maxar Technologies has revealed the epic scale of destruction wrought by Russian force on the besieged city of Bakhmut, showing once leafy suburbs that have been reduced to nothing but mud and rubble.

Maxar Technologies Inc. is a US space technology company based in Westminster, Colorado. One of its specialist activities is Earth observation using high resolution satellite imagery.

Recent imagery contrasts views of the eastern Donbas city of Bakhmut, taken on May 8, 2022 with those taken on May 15, 2023 after over 9 months of intensive fighting.

“Across the city, rows of apartment buildings, schools, stores, and other infrastructure have been reduced to smoldering rubble, and parts of the city that had been lined with trees and parks a year ago are now completely stripped of all vegetation,” Maxar wrote in a press release.

BEFORE

(8 May 2022)

AFTER

(15 May 2023)

BEFORE

(8 May 2022)

AFTER

(15 May 2023)

BEFORE

(8 May 2022)

AFTER

(15 May 2023)

BEFORE

(8 May 2022)

AFTER

(15 May 2023)

Credit Maxar Technologies via Ukrinform

Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said on May 17 that the Ukrainian military continued to make gains around the city, still holding 20 square kilometers of land that it retook from Russian forces. Malyar said Russian troops were still slowly advancing within the city, where fierce fighting continues.