Ukrainian forces refused to surrender Bakhmut over Orthodox Easter despite ceding yet more territory to advancing Russian forces during the 60th week of the war.
Kyiv continued to gather war materiel for a counteroffensive, and power shifts in the Russian military suggested that President Vladimir Putin was displeased with his army’s performance during a winter offensive, which failed to capture the remaining areas of Luhansk and Donetsk not under Russian control by March 31.
