Little is left of Bachmoet itself, the city is completely in ruins. Yet the battle rages on without hope. The inevitable question is: why? “Both sides refuse to give up this fight. This is truly remarkable, because Bachmoet itself is no longer a ruin. It is mainly about the symbolic value.’
Fighter bombers and air strikes
Russia claims to own 50% of the area. According to Hammelburg, it should have been more, given the overwhelming strength of the Russian army. Fighter bombers and air strikes are also used. “The battle is getting more and more serious.”
Even the Ukrainians refuse to surrender. “The combativeness of the Ukrainian army in any case will set the Russians far back.” The tragedy, however, is that this tactic costs both sides a lot of lives. “We’re talking about thousands of lives here, it’s a big massacre.”
“You can’t tick a few boxes to become a member, you have to go through a whole phone book of rules for that.”
Diplomatic battle
Diplomatic work is also underway. This is how Zelensky got his teeth into the quest to become a member of the European Union. Last month you appointed a new anti-corruption chief. According to Hammelburg, however, this process is far more complicated: “You can’t check off a number of boxes to become a member. You have to follow a whole phone book of rules to do that.”