The battle for Bakhmut: Ukrainian city a smoking ruin as Russians forced back in disarray by counterattack
An armoured personnel carrier kicks up dust as it careers across the drying land.
The harsh winter here has turned to spring and the boggy farm tracks have hardened.
After months of setbacks, the change in seasons has ushered in a change of pace for the Ukrainian army.
In the open land around Bakhmut, they are now advancing on their enemy.
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The Institute for the Study of War assesses around 10 square miles of land around the beleaguered city has been liberated in the last week.
We were the first journalists to join the 3rd brigade, the fighters responsible for the counteroffensive that triggered more fighting on the northern and southern flanks of Bakhmut, and they wanted to show us how they were forcing the Russians back.
The fighting here remains fierce and the last few hundred metres towards the new frontline have to be made on foot, across open ground.
The new Russian lines are not far away.
It’s just a few hundred metres from where we tread.
Helmet camera footage shows Ukrainian soldiers clearing areas of Russian forces
Ukrainian soldiers advance towards Russian positions
An army in disarray
As we walk into what was Russian-occupied territory just days ago you can hear the sound of small arms fire – machine guns crackle in the distance – and we’re told they’re trying to take it back.
Our military guide, Dotsent, shows us the foxholes where the Russians hid when the Ukrainian surprise assault began.
“Here they were crawling,” he tells us, pointing to a trench in a treeline decimated by shrapnel and gunfire.
Many were obviously wounded; there were used tourniquets, field dressings and torn clothing all around.
A helmet with a bullet hole lay on the ground.
Ammunition crates were left behind as those who could fled in a hurry.
It is a snapshot of an army in disarray.
Russian soldiers can be seen fleeing Ukraine’s forces
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Dotsent was part of the assault and he describes a bloody fight.
The positions of those who refused to surrender were stormed with armoured vehicles or cleared out with grenades.
What should be fields of wheat are pockmarked by the shelling.
Dotsent tells us: “Regarding the size of our advance and how many casualties the Russians had through the whole line – and this is only preliminary information – it’s awesome. And this lifts our morale. Everyone is now in high spirits.”
But such offensives come at a cost too.
“Yes, we also had casualties, two people died and they were very young. What can we do?”
Dotsent has been involved in the assault on Russia’s forces
As we were leaving a soldier appeared from further along the front with a pick-up truck carrying a dead Russian from the battlefield.
“Our people killed him. Maybe it was mortars because he has a lot of wounds. There are a lot of dead bodies. Too many.”
He is impatient to leave, the sound of the shelling nearby is getting louder and he says he has a lot of work still to do.
Ukrainian soldiers use grenades to clear parts of Bakhmut and storm Russian positions
A Ukrainian soldier fires a gun from the side of an armoured vehicle
‘Of course we are optimistic’
At the brigade’s underground bunker a few kilometres from the frontline, soldiers scan the landscape for Russian movements using drones.
They show us a livestream of the city of Bakhmut.
It’s a grey, smoking ruin of destroyed and burned buildings.
Nothing has been spared from the shelling.
A Ukrainian soldier says the troops are ‘optimistic’
And despite Ukraine’s success in recent days Russia still controls 90% of the city.
It has been the focus of their military campaign for months.
But with Ukraine’s new Western weapons, additional training and successes like these the Ukrainian soldiers here are confident they can win back their country.
They tell us: “Of course we are optimistic. We know what we are doing, we know how we must do our attack or our defence. We know that in the end, maybe two, three, five years, I don’t know, we will win this war.”
When the main counteroffensive comes is still a guessing game – even for the troops on the ground.
But they know their time is coming and they say they are ready.
World
Ten explosions near international airport in India-administered part of Kashmir, officials say
Ten explosions have been heard near Srinagar International Airport in India-administered parts of Kashmir, officials have told Reuters news agency.
The blasts followed blackouts caused by multiple projectiles, which were seen in the sky above the city of Jammu earlier on Friday.
Explosions were also heard in the Sikh holy city of Amritsar, in the neighbouring Punjab state, according to Reuters.
An Indian military official told the agency that “drones have been sighted” and “they are being engaged”.
It comes as tensions between India and Pakistan across the line of control around the region of Kashmir have boiled over this week, leading to fears of a wider conflict.
On Wednesday morning, India carried out missile strikes in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered parts of the disputed region.
The retaliation came weeks after 26 people, mainly Indian tourists, were shot dead by gunmen in an India-administered part of Kashmir last month.
The government in India said it hit nine “terrorist infrastructure” sites, while Pakistan said it was not involved in the April attack and the sites were not militant bases.
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Explained: India-Pakistan conflict
Around 48 people have been killed since Wednesday, according to casualty estimates on both sides – which have not been independently verified.
India also suspended its top cricket tournament, the Indian Premier League, as a result of rising tensions, while the Pakistan Super League moved the remainder of its season to the United Arab Emirates.
Meanwhile, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a conference on Friday that the US is in constant contact with both India and Pakistan.
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Conclaves are famously unpredictable affairs – and once again the election of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as the new pope caught many by surprise.
The newly elected Pope Leo XIV won the consensus of the 133 cardinal electors after only four ballots – a fast process for a diverse college of cardinals.
Though his name had circulated among some Vatican watchers, other cardinals had emerged as clear front-runners, including Pietro Parolin – the Vatican’s number two who would have been the first Italian in almost 50 years to become pontiff – or Luis Tagle, a Filipino cardinal looking to become the first Asian pope.
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Instead, it was the first North American to win the highly secretive process.
So, what went on behind the closed doors of the Sistine Chapel?
Until Thursday lunchtime, Cardinal Parolin was ahead, gathering between 45 and 55 votes, sources say.
A substantial number, but well short of the 89 votes he needed for a two-thirds majority.
At this point, Cardinal Prevost had between 34 and 44 votes.
But as the Italian struggled to grow his support during the first three rounds of voting, he stepped down from the race, endorsing Prevost instead, Sky News understands.
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An internal battle between Luis Tagle and Pablo Virgilio David – both cardinals hailing from Asia – cancelled out both of their chances.
And a contender from Africa – the most conservative sector of the church – was never likely for a conclave where the overwhelming majority of cardinals had been appointed by Francis, a progressive pontiff, sources say.
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An American pope has long been seen as highly improbable, given the geopolitical power of the US.
But Cardinal Prevost was able to draw from across the groups making up the electors: moderate US cardinals, South American cardinals and many European cardinals all coalesced around him.
Italian newspaper La Repubblica said Prevost “certainly attracted cross-party preferences, both ideologically and geographically”.
“In the conclave he was the least American of Americans: Born in Chicago, he lived 20 years in Peru,” the newspaper said.
It added: “As a man used to teamwork, Prevost appeared to many as the right man to make the papacy evolve into a more collegial form.”
Standing on Red Square, this was an intimidating sight, which felt much more like a celebration of war rather than peace.
I could feel the ground shake as the tanks rolled past, their caterpillar tracks on the ancient cobbles providing a deafening clatter.
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up in fear as the phalanxes of troops roared “Hurrah” in response to their commander in chief.
And the sight of combat drones being paraded on their launchers was actually quite sickening. Weapons that have been at the forefront of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine were paraded in a show of pomp and patriotism.
Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin watch the procession. Pic: Reuters
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For the rest of Europe, the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War has been a celebration of peace, but this felt much more like a celebration of war.
And it wasn’t just military hardware on display here, but the very identity of modern Russia.
Pic: Reuters
For this is a country that is now defined by its military and its memory. The glory and sacrifice of 1945 have been weaponised to give credence to Russia’s current course and to make people believe that victory is their right.
For Russians, it served as a rallying cry and there was applause when the troops who have fought against Ukraine marched past.
But for those watching in Kyiv and other European capitals, it was an overt warning that Moscow has no intention of backing down.
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The parade was considerably larger in scale than in recent years, when units and hardware have been needed on the battlefield. I think it was a deliberate attempt to project an image of confidence, and so was Vladimir Putin‘s positioning of his guests.
China’s Xi Jinping was given a prime position on the Kremlin leader’s right-hand side. It was no surprise given the economic lifeline Beijing has provided, but it felt like a particularly pointed gesture to the West – that they were looking at a new world order.
Despite that appearance of confidence, there were signs of Moscow’s unease that the parade could be disrupted.
There were snipers on every rooftop. Security was extremely tight. And the mobile internet signal across the city centre was completely shut down for fear of Ukrainian drone attacks, meaning none of the international media that had gathered could broadcast any live transmissions.
After the parade finished, Putin saluted the crowds as they spontaneously erupted into rhythmic shouts of “Rus-si-ya” at the sight of him.
Another PR coup complete without interruption, he will have departed as a very happy man.
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