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To accomplish this, Russian operations advanced from multiple fronts—southward from Imin, northward from Donetsk City, and westward—looking to converge on key urban centers such as Sloviansk and Kramatorsk. However, with limited progress on the Imin and Donetsk fronts, the Russians concentrated their offensive on the Luhansk axis leading to Bakhmut.
The Battle's Early Phase
As of late April 2022, the city of Bakhmut, a critical crossroads in Northern Donetsk, was fortified by Ukrainian troops. Russian forces began by capturing nearby towns, such as Popasna, allowing them to launch artillery strikes on Bakhmut. By mid-2022, key towns like Lysychansk also fell, triggering a strategic Ukrainian retreat to a new defensive line that included Bakhmut.