(Photo : ARIS MESSINIS/AFP via Getty Images)
The Ukrainian military's general staff said Russian soldiers were trying but failing to encircle Bakhmut and that defenders had resisted repeated attacks inside and outside the city.
British military intelligence reported on Saturday that severe action was taking place in the eastern city of Bakhmut, where Ukrainian troops were defending it from Russian soldiers.
The British Defense Ministry's daily intelligence briefing said that elite Ukrainian soldiers are reinforcing the region, while the regular Russian army and Wagner group fighters had advanced toward Bakhmut's northern suburbs, according to Reuters.
In a Facebook post published late Saturday, the Ukrainian military's general staff said that Russian soldiers were attempting but failing to encircle Bakhmut and that defenders had successfully resisted repeated assaults inside and outside the city.
It's been seven months since the fighting in Bakhmut began. Moscow's first big prize in a costly winter assault would be a success in the city, which had a population of approximately 70,000 before the Russia-Ukraine war started.
On Saturday night, renowned Ukrainian military expert Oleh Zhdanov said he saw no imminent indications that Kyiv would order a withdrawal from the city.
Zelensky Admits Bakhmut Situation Getting Worse
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned of a "more and more difficult" scenario this week, but the country's armed forces said on Tuesday that they had successfully repulsed several assaults since last Friday.
Oleksandr Marchenko, deputy mayor of Bakhmut, noted that they should not "give any inch of our land" to the invaders.
"We should protect our land, we should protect our people, and we should protect the businesses that are on this land," he remarked.
Bakhmut was almost ruined, with bridges damaged and communications severed, Marchenko said, accusing the Russians of wanting to "demolish Bakhmut" as they did with Mariupol and Popasna, the two Ukrainian cities in the east that are currently under Russian control in the Russia Ukraine war, per BBC.
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US, Germany To Continue Sanctions on Russia
US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz have pledged to keep Russia's conflict in Ukraine expensive, while a European Union official suggested China's military sales to Moscow will result in penalties.
On Friday, Biden and Scholz met in Washington, DC, as the US unveiled a $400 million military assistance package for Ukraine that included weaponry and tactical bridges for moving tanks and armored vehicles. The shipment of more ammo is meant to increase stockpiles in preparation for the Ukrainian spring assault in the Russia-Ukraine war.
Ukraine, according to US authorities, is preparing for a fresh Russian onslaught in the coming weeks, prompting the meeting between the presidents of the United States and Germany.
The last time we were here together, Russia was amassing its troops on Ukraine’s border.
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 3, 2023
@Bundeskanzler and I made it clear that Putin would face grave consequences if he launched his assault.
Together, we made good on that promise. pic.twitter.com/sFKT0DPpkw
According to Washington officials, the leaders discussed the current condition of the fight and how to react if China were to send military help to Russia.
The two presidents, who were seated next to each other in the Oval Office on Friday, praised Scholz's decision to significantly boost Germany's defense expenditure and diversify Germany's energy supplies away from Russia. Joe Biden also claimed that the two leaders had collaborated closely with other allies to assist Ukraine, according to an Al Jazeera report.
Joe Biden said the US and its NATO members were strengthening the alliance.
Olaf Scholz said it was crucial to show that the allies will support Kyiv "as long as it takes and as long as is necessary."
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