Battle for Bakhmut Continues as Zelensky Vows Ukraine Will Stand Ground

The embattled Ukrainian city of Bakhmut remains under Kyiv's control, according to reports, as Ukraine's President, Volodymyr Zelensky, makes flying visits to some of the country's European allies.

The Donetsk city has long endured both heavy fighting and intense bombardment. Last week, Zelensky called the city a "fortress" and said Ukraine's armed forces will hold the city "for as long as we can."

"We resist [in Bakhmut]. And I thank every warrior who provides this resistance with his stamina," Zelensky said on Monday night.

The Ukrainian leader, who traveled to the U.K. and France on Wednesday, said Ukraine's armed forces in Bakhmut must "hold on" until they receive further weapons shipments.

"It's all a matter of time," he told French outlet Le Figaro. "In war, time does not have the same meaning."

On Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War think tank said Russian troops had been conducting ground attacks around Bakhmut, and had made tactical advances.

Russian forces made "marginal advances" in Krasna Hora, Zaliznyanske and Stupky, to the north of the city, as well as to the southwest, the ISW said. Moscow's forces are within 1.5 miles of the Bakhmut-Slovyansk highway to the north, the ISW added.

Russian ultra-nationalist "milblogger," Igor Girkin, said on Wednesday that Russian forces had managed to gain control of part of the highway from Bakhmut to the nearby city of Kramatorsk, which is just south of Slovyansk.

Writing on Telegram, he said that within the city, there were "advances in urban development" but "most" of the settlement was still controlled by Ukrainian forces.

Girkin, who also goes by Igor Strelkov, said although "there is no operational encirclement of Bakhmut yet," the "final outcome" will depend on the access to "reserves."

"Both sides suffer high losses in men and equipment in the area," he said, but said Ukraine had so far been able to "transfer reserves and carry out supplies through and to the north of the settlement."

On Sunday, the British defense ministry suggested that the two main roads into Bakhmut for Ukraine were likely "threatened by direct fire." Wagner units appeared to have already taken control of a route north from Bakhmut to Siversk.

"The capture of Bakhmut is of fundamental importance" for the Russian military and mercenaries, Girkin said, "so the battle will continue on our side until victory or until complete exhaustion of forces."

He added: "It seems that Bakhmut can be completely taken over a period of time from several days to the end of the month."

If Russian soldiers take Bakhmut, "they will want to go further," Zelensky told Le Figaro. "This will give them an advantage. The question is what will happen after Bakhmut."

On Thursday, Donetsk regional governor, Pavlo Kyrylenko, said two Bakhmut civilians had been killed the previous day.

Separately, a report from Ukraine's anti-corruption portal said Ukrainian National Guardsmen had downed a Russian Mi-24 attack helicopter near the city. A portable anti-aircraft missile was used to shoot down the helicopter, the organization said.

On Wednesday, a retired Russian-backed commander in eastern Ukraine accused Ukrainian fighters of deploying chemical weapons in Bakhmut, without providing any evidence of the claim.

Newsweek has contacted the Ukrainian defense ministry for comment.