Ukrainian supply routes from the besieged city of Bakhmut are becoming “increasingly limited” as Ukrainian defenses come under increasing pressure, the UK Ministry of Defense said in its latest assessment of the situation on the front.

In its latest intelligence update, Britain’s Ministry of Defense says Kyiv is “reinforcing the area with elite units” and destroying key bridges, but Russian forces are advancing, The Guardian reports.

• “The Ukrainian defense of the city of Bakhmut in Donbas is under increased pressure, intense fighting is taking place in and around the city,” the British Ministry of Defense said.

According to him, the troops of the Russian army and Wagner’s group continued their offensive in the northern outskirts of the city, which is now an important point vulnerable to Russian attacks from three sides.

• “Ukraine is consolidating territory with elite units, and two key bridges in Bakhmut have been destroyed in the last 36 hours, including a vital bridge connecting the city to the last major supply route from Bakhmut to the city of Chasiv Yar.
• However, the supply routes that Ukrainians have outside the city limits are increasingly limited,” the quoted source added.

Russian troops and mercenaries unleashed a barrage of shells on the final approaches to the besieged Ukrainian city of Bakhmut on Friday, bringing Moscow closer to its first major victory in six months after the bloodiest fighting of the war, AFP and Reuters reported.

Wagner head Yevhen Prigozhin said on Friday that the city was “virtually surrounded” and called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi to withdraw troops from the city, which the Russians have been fighting for months.

• Saturday’s events regarding the war started by Russia in Ukraine are broadcast LIVE on HotNews.ro