According to Reuters , in a video showing Ukrainian General Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of Ukraine's land forces, talking to soldiers, he said Russia continued to focus on the Bakhmut area after months of fighting.
"They are constantly trying to surround and capture the city," Syrskyi stressed in a video posted on the Telegram messaging app.
"As of today, our main task is to destroy the overwhelming enemy forces and inflict heavy losses on them. This will create the necessary conditions to help liberate the territory of Ukraine and accelerate our victory."
Russia and Ukraine are still at loggerheads in Bakhmut city. Photo: Reuters
Bakhmut had a population of about 70,000 before the fighting broke out. However, the city is now heavily damaged.
Mr Syrskyi met with Ukrainian troops stationed near the frontline as Kiev "prepared for a counterattack". The general noted that defending Bakhmut was militarily necessary.
Mr Syrskyi's comments suggest Ukraine hopes to hold Bakhmut rather than withdraw to limit casualties.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy also visited troops in eastern, southern and southeastern Ukraine this month. Zelenskiy held a meeting with top military commanders in the city of Dnipro on March 27. It was the first such meeting held outside the capital Kiev since Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine in February last year.
In another development, China's Foreign Ministry has called for those who sabotaged the Nord Stream gas pipeline to face consequences, while condemning the US for not supporting the UN-led investigation into the incident.
Speaking at a press conference on March 28, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said that the US's attitude was an example of "double standards" and that "officials in Washington are 'afraid of something'."
"China hopes the perpetrators will be brought to justice as soon as possible," Mao added.
China, Russia and Brazil backed a draft resolution to investigate the Nord Stream pipeline leak in a recent United Nations Security Council vote.
If passed, the resolution would ask the UN secretary-general to establish a commission to launch a "comprehensive, transparent and impartial international investigation" into the leak, which occurred last September.
However, the US argues that the proposal is aimed at undermining national investigations conducted by Germany, Denmark and Sweden.
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