Ukraine vows all-in defence of Bakhmut

• Ukrainians will fight “for as long as we can” to hold the eastern city of Bakhmut, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed on Friday, as he hosted European Union leaders to discuss further sanctions on Russia and Kyiv's EU prospects.

Shortly after Zelenskyy spoke, air raid sirens sounded once again in Kyiv and across the country — a regular occurrence during months of Russian missile attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure far from the battlefields in the east and south — but there were no immediate reports of new air strikes.

The head of the EU's executive Commission and the chairman of the 27 EU national leaders are in Kyiv to demonstrate support for Ukraine as the first anniversary of Russia's Feb. 24 invasion approaches.

Zelenskyy, flanked by the EU leaders at a news conference, said European sanctions should aim to ensure Russia cannot rebuild its military capability. And he had a defiant message on Bakhmut, the focal point of Ukrainian resistance.

“Nobody will give away Bakhmut. We will fight for as long as we can. We consider Bakhmut our fortress,” he said. “If weapon (supplies) are accelerated, specifically long-range weapons, not only will we not abandon Bakhmut but we will also begin to remove the (Russian) occupiers from the Donbas (region of eastern Ukraine), which was occupied since 2014.”

Ukraine has secured pledges of weapons from the West offering new capabilities — the latest expected this week to include rockets from the United States that would nearly double the range of Ukrainian forces.

The rockets, known as Ground Launched Small Diameter Bombs (GLSDB), could target all Russian-occupied territory on Ukraine's mainland, as well as parts of the Crimea peninsula seized by Moscow in 2014.

Moscow says Russian forces are encircling Bakhmut from many directions and battling to take control of a road which is also an important supply route.

Zelenskyy has called for more punitive EU sanctions against Russia, though new measures the bloc is preparing for the anniversary of the invasion are set to fall short of his government's demands.

Ukraine applied to join the EU days after Russia invaded last year. The EU has embraced the application, although it has rebuffed Ukraine's calls for a fast track.

EU officials have listed membership requirements, from political and economic stability to adopting various EU laws. The process is likely to take years.

The EU has demanded more measures from Kyiv to tackle what is perceived as endemic state graft. Zelenskyy announced dismissals and investigations of several officials recently.

The EU will ban Russian refined oil products from Sunday, and EU envoys in Brussels on Friday aimed to agree to cap global prices of Russian fuels, to limit Moscow's ability to fund the war.