Ukraine vows to keep defending Bakhmut amid constant Russian attacks
Ukraine's top generals have promised to keep defending the eastern city of Bakhmut, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, as Russian forces battled to tighten their siege and secure their first major battlefield gain in more than six months.
Russian forces have been trying to take Bakhmut for months and says capturing it would be a step towards its objective of seizing all of the surrounding Donbas region. But Western strategists say it would be more of a pyrrhic victory given the time taken and the mass casualties.
Ukrainian troops have been reinforcing positions west of the city in apparent preparation for a possible withdrawal but appear not to have decided to pull out.
Zelenskyy said he discussed Bakhmut with the regional commander and Ukraine's commander in chief and that both had said "not to withdraw" and to strengthen defences.
"The command unanimously supported this position. There were no other positions. I told the commander in chief to find the appropriate forces to help our guys in Bakhmut," Zelenskyy said in his nightly address on Monday.
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