Ukraine clings to Bakhmut, top US official tells Russian counterpart Washington backs Kyiv all the way

A Ukrainian politician says the country's forces will likely have to pull back from Bakhmut. (AP Photo: Evgeniy Maloletka)

Ukrainian forces have held out against Russian attacks in the city of Bakhmut, while the top US diplomat told his Russian counterpart — in their first face-to-face encounter since the invasion — that the Kremlin must stop its war.

In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin said Russia had been hit by what he called a terrorist attack in its southern Bryansk region bordering Ukraine.