Ukrainian forces put up fierce resistance to Russian troops attempting to encircle Bakhmut

On Wednesday, Russian troops continuously attacked Bakhmut, trying to surround the town and storm it.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Moscow of sending large numbers of troops into the Battle of Bakhmut without caring about their lives, and said the battle for the city was extremely difficult but its defense was essential.In the ruined city, only a few thousand inhabitants remained out of a pre-war population of around 70,000.Both sides call the battles for Bakhmut and the territories around it the bloodiest of the entire war.After Russian troops were driven out of some of the territories they had captured in the second half of 2022, hundreds of thousands of newly mobilized troops have mobilized to join their ranks. Ukraine has largely held on for the past three months, hoping the Russian offensive will wear them down before Kiev launches a counter-offensive with new weapons promised by the West.Kiev claims that the destroyed city is of limited strategic importance, but that the losses are so great that they could affect the further course of the war.Recall that the Wagner PMC is involved in Bakhmut, which recruited tens of thousands of prisoners in Russian prisons to participate in the war against Ukraine.