Russians on the brink of capturing key city

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has warned that the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut might fall to Russia in the coming days following months of intense fighting.

His remarks on Wednesday (local time) came as Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, which has spearheaded the attack on Bakhmut, claimed to have captured the eastern bank of the industrial town, devastated in the longest battle since Moscow invaded Ukraine a year ago.

Wagner chief and Kremlin ally Yevgeny Prigozhin said on social media that his forces “have taken all of the eastern part of Bakhmut”, which had a pre-war population of 80,000.

The intense fighting around Bakhmut has been the longest and bloodiest in Russia’s more than year-long invasion, which has devastated swathes of Ukraine and displaced millions of people.

“What we see is that Russia is throwing more troops, more forces and what Russia lacks in quality they try to make up in quantity,” Mr Stoltenberg said in Stockholm on the sidelines of an EU defence ministers meeting.

“We cannot rule out that Bakhmut may eventually fall in the coming days,” the head of the US-led military alliance said, adding that “this does not necessarily reflect any turning point of the war”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meanwhile warned of what could happen if Bakhmut fell to Russia.

“We understand that after Bakhmut, (Russian forces) could go further” and attack nearby cities in the Donetsk region, he said.

“They could go to Kramatorsk, they could go to Sloviansk, it would be an open road for the Russians after Bakhmut,” Mr Zelensky said.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu also told military officials that taking control of the city would allow for “further offensive operations” in eastern Ukraine.

Mr Prigozhin has estimated that between 12,000 and 20,000 Ukrainian troops were still defending the town.

Mr Zelensky said his armed forces were resolved to stay.

“Of course, we have to think about the lives of our military. But we have to do whatever we can whilst we’re getting weapons, supplies, and our army is getting ready for the counter-offensive,” he said.

Mr Zelensky on Wednesday hosted UN chief Antonio Guterres in Kyiv, his third visit to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion. Mr Guterres stressed the need to extend a deal that has allowed Ukraine to export its grain but is due to expire.

EU defence ministers were meeting in Stockholm to discuss a plan to rush ammunition to Ukraine as pressure mounts on Kyiv’s allies to bolster supplies to the war effort.

Ukraine’s Western backers warn that Kyiv is facing a critical shortage of howitzer shells as it fires thousands a day in its fight against the offensive.

“The current rate of consumption compared to the current rate of production of ammunition is not sustainable, and therefore we need to ramp up production,” Mr Stoltenberg said.