Ukraine said it had repelled a day of Russian attacks in and around the ruined eastern city of Bakhmut on Thursday and made gains of a kilometre in some places while buying time for "certain planned actions".
The head of the Wagner mercenary force, which is spearheading the Russian attack on Bakhmut, said his forces had advanced up to 400 meters. "We're pushing Bakhmut all the way to the end," he said in an audio recording on his Telegram channel.
