Street fighting in Bakhmut but Russia not in control - deputy mayor

Russian and Ukrainian forces are warring successful the streets of Bakhmut - but Russia does not power the eastbound city, its lawman politician has said.

Oleksandr Marchenko besides told the BBC the remaining 4,000 civilians are surviving successful shelters without entree to gas, energy oregon water.

Mr Marchenko said "not a azygous building" had remained untouched and that the metropolis is "almost destroyed",

Bakhmut has seen months of fighting, arsenic Russia tries to instrumentality charge.

Taking the metropolis would beryllium a uncommon battlefield occurrence successful caller months for Russia.

But contempt that, the city's strategical worth has been questioned. Some experts accidental immoderate Russian triumph could beryllium pyrrhic - that is, not worthy the cost.

After fierce shelling, Russian forces and troops from the Wagner backstage service look to person surrounded overmuch of Bakhmut,.

On Saturday, UK subject quality said Russian advances successful the bluish suburbs person near the Ukraine-held conception of the metropolis susceptible to Russian attacks connected 3 sides.

Mr Marchenko accused the Russians of having "no goal" to prevention the metropolis and that it wanted to perpetrate "genocide of the Ukrainian people".

"Currently determination is nary connection successful the metropolis truthful the metropolis is chopped out, the bridges are destroyed and the tactics that the Russians are utilizing is the maneuver of parched land," Mr Marchenko told the Today programme.

Earlier this week, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the concern successful the country was becoming "more and much difficult" - though the Ukrainian subject said it had repelled galore attacks since Friday.

The commandant of Ukraine's crushed forces, Col Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi, visited Bakhmut connected Friday for meetings with section commanders.

"I judge we shouldn't springiness immoderate inch of our onshore to the enemy," Mr Marchenko said. "We should support our land, we should support our radical and we should support the businesses that are connected this land.

"And the crushed wherefore we shouldn't springiness it to them is due to the fact that it volition beryllium precise hard to instrumentality it back, to regain the power aft Russians seizure it."

On Friday, President Zelensky stressed that artillery and shells were needed to "stop Russia".

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the country's latest bundle included high-precision Himars artillery rockets and howitzers "which Ukraine is utilizing truthful effectively".