Despite a recent easing of fighting in Bakhmut, clashes around the devastated city in eastern Ukraine continue, with Moscow suffering heavy casualties, Kyiv’s armed forces said on Sunday, Reuters reported.

Ukraine’s Supreme Military Command said in its daily report on Sunday that Russian forces had carried out two unsuccessful operations around Bakhmut and launched a series of airstrikes and artillery strikes on nearby villages.

According to Sunday’s Ukrainian report, over the last day, about 23 clashes took place in the Donetsk region, where Bakhmut is located, and the neighboring Luhansk region, which together form Donbas.

The head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner said on Saturday that 99 percent of his fighters had left Bakhmut after a months-long assault in the longest and bloodiest battle of the war. British intelligence said on Saturday that Russia was continuing to deploy regular army units to the Bakhmut area, replacing Wagner fighter jets.

Ukraine said late last month that fighting in the area had eased, but ground forces commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Saturday that Ukrainian forces were still fighting there.

“The enemy continues to suffer significant losses in the Bakhmut direction. Defense forces continue fighting. We will win,” Syrskyi said in Telegram after visiting troops around Bakhmut.

According to military analysts, Bakhmut, once home to 70,000 people, is of no strategic importance.

But Moscow said its capture would be a milestone in its further push into the industrial region of Donbas, which it claims it annexed.