Battle for Bakhmut - Narrative Analysis

Overview

In the narrative frenzy surrounding the Russia-Ukraine War, the Battle for Bakhmut has remained a consistent narrative since fighting for the city began in August 2022.

Bakhmut is a critical city for Ukrainian supply lines to the Donbas. Over the past week, Russia has made consistent tactical advances surrounding the city. Capturing Bakhmut would be a pyrrhic victory for Russia that would be more of a morale booster than a tactical gain. 

As Russian forces encircle the city, different narratives surround the battle and the next steps for the Ukrainian military. See this Kudzu narrative intelligence brief on the Battle for Bakhmut to understand the different narratives surrounding the battles over the last 30 days. 

Key Insights:

• The narrative surrounding Bakhmut has been driven by 230 sources in our U.S. Media module and 1,405 unique narratives in the last 30 days.
• Coverage has remained consistent, with large spikes seen around February 13. 
• The left and center account for the majority of amplified narratives. One of the most active sources is OpLens, which has accounted for 8.3% of the narratives amplified in our module.