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‘Victory Day’ in Russia All Over Again
Putin hails ‘liberation’ of Bakhmut as a great day in Russian history
The medals are being pressed. Creative types inside the Kremlin are coming up with flowery, patriotic proclamations describing the great sacrifices the rapists, murderers, and thieves of the Wagner group gave to “liberate” Bakhmut.
Vladimir Putin calls the great victory of the town that is about as significant as Troy, New York a “historical liberation.” Forces especially good at Lego and other such constructor toys have been sent forward to build out of the rubble a dozen or so happy survivors of the town that has for the past 224 days been mistaken for an artillery and tank shooting range.
224 days is 141 less than a year in case you were wondering. It took the Red Army nine days to take Berlin. Bakhmut is not Berlin.
Bakhmut is not Stalingrad and yet if the battle, which still goes on despite the Russians apparently controlling the city’s center — which is not saying much — had gone on for another few months, it could have in theory reached a Stalingrad level of death and destruction. Stalingrad was only more deadly because there were so many more troops from both sides involved in the battle.
