>>...not of Stalingrad, though that one is a good comparison, but Verdun

Agreed 90%; Bakhmut seems to have become as symbolic as Verdun to the Russians. But the Ukrainians don't seem to have been feeding their people in the same way and, as you mention elsewhere, are following NATO doctrine: spend as few lives as possible to get a result. But they clearly have the same intent as the Germans did: bleed the opponent white.

Just my $0.02...