On Ukraine's front lines, Russia is razing Bakhmut's Jewish history to the ground

The brutal year-long Russian invasion of Ukraine is crushing two centuries of Jewish heritage, including a community that endured Nazi massacres, in the 'fortress' city of Bakhmut

Despite a vicious, eight-month onslaught by Russian forces, the city of Bakmut has become famous worldwide as a symbol of Ukrainian invincibility. Along with destruction of residential neighborhoods in the small city, located in the country’s eastern Donbas region, the Russian aggressors are razing local Jewish heritage sites to the ground.

Synagogues, sites commemorating the mass murder of Jews and burial grounds of Holocaust victims are being savagely shelled in the city that’s been dubbed “Fortress Bakhmut,” once known as Artemivsk.

In January, the front line in Bakhmut’s industrial zone curved around Artwinery, formerly the Artemivsk Champagne Factory, the largest such enterprise in Ukraine.

By Shimon Briman

Read More @Haaretz