Battle of Bakhmut
During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, a main Russian goal was to take the Donbas region. This region is made of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. The first attack to Bakhmut was done to encircle the Ukrainian soldiers at the Sievierodonetsk-Lysychansk salient. With another push from the Lyman direction, this would create a pocket and trap Ukrainian forces there. After the battles of Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk in early July, Russian and separatist forces took all of Luhansk Oblast. The battlefield turned towards the cities of Sloviansk, Bakhmut, and Soledar.