BAKHMUT - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and senior military commanders have vowed to continue to defend the eastern city of Bakhmut, according to a statement from the president’s office. “They spoke in favor of continuing the defense operation and further strengthening our positions in Bakhmut,” reads the statement. The meeting “considered the situation in Bakhmut in detail,” it adds. The meeting was also attended by other senior figures in the government, including the Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak, Chief of Defense Intelligence Kyrylo Budanov, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksii Danilov. Russia is reportedly making progress in its attempts to take Bakhmut, with intense fighting reported on Monday morning.
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US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has played down the significance of the city, saying that it wouldn’t constitute “an operational or strategic setback” for the Ukrainian military should Bakhmut fall to Russian forces. Ukrainian soldier says Bakhmut has been under fire since early Monday morning. Russian forces continue to attack the eastern city of Bakhmut on Monday, according to a Ukrainian soldier from the State Border Guard Service. “Unfortunately, the city has been under fire since early morning. Mostly with mortars and artillery,” the soldier said in a video released by the service on Monday. The unnamed soldier said that Russian forces “are trying to push our flanks. But the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, together with its colleagues, is standing firm in its positions.” “We are doing everything possible to prevent the enemy from entering the city,” he added.
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Social media video uploaded Monday purports to show muddy tracks near Bakhmut where vehicles have been damaged and destroyed. CNN is unable to geolocate the video. However, it is consistent with the accounts of Ukrainian soldiers, who have said that they have had to resort to using tracks to get in an out of Bakhmut as the Russian forces are able to strike the main roads into the city.The video is also consistent with current conditions in the area, where frozen ground has turned to mud as temperatures have risen