CHASIV YAR, Ukraine -After the bloodiest battle of the war, Russian artillery pounded the last escape routes from Bakhmut on Friday in an effort to completely encircle the besieged Ukrainian city and bring Moscow closer to its first significant victory in half a year.
According to the commander of Russia's Wagner private army, only one road remained open for Ukrainian troops to enter the city, which has been reduced to rubble by Russia's more than seven-month assault.
According to Reuters, Russia has been heavily shelling the roads leading west from Bakhmut in an apparent effort to obstruct Ukrainian forces' access to and from the city. A Russian tank fire destroyed a bridge in the nearby town of Khromove.
As a sign that Ukraine was still unwilling to cede control of the city, Ukrainian soldiers were working to repair the city's damaged roads, and more troops were moving toward the frontlines. Ukrainians were creating new trenches to the west as defensive positions.
The state news agency of Russia, RIA, released a video purportedly depicting Wagner fighters passing by a destroyed industrial facility. In order to stop the Russian encirclement, one fighter is heard saying that the Ukrainian army is destroying the infrastructure in communities close to Bakhmut.
Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander of the ground forces of Ukraine, went to Bakhmut on Friday to brief regional commanders on how to improve the defense capabilities of frontline forces.
Denys Yaroslavskyi, commander of a Ukrainian army unit at Bakhmut, described the situation as "a slaughterhouse on both sides". With a pre-war population of 70,000, a Russian victory in the city would be the first major prize in a costly winter offensive. Russia claims it would be a step toward completing the capture of the Donbas industrial region, one of Moscow's top priorities. Ukraine claims the city has little strategic value, and Russia's massive casualties in attempting to take Bakhmut may shape the course of the conflict.
"Units of the private military company Wagner have practically surrounded Bakhmut," Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a video filmed on a rooftop in a village 7 kilometers (4 miles) north of the city center, according to Reuters.
He urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to order a retreat from Bakhmut in order to save the lives of his soldiers.
In a video posted on social media, Robert Brovdi, the commander of a Ukrainian drone unit active in Bakhmut known as "Madyar," stated that his unit had been ordered to withdraw immediately.
He claimed to have been fighting for 110 days.
Volodymyr Nazarenko, a deputy commander in the National Guard of Ukraine, told Ukrainian NV Radio the situation was "critical," with fighting "round the clock."
"They make no allowance for their losses in the assault on the city." Our forces in Bakhmut are tasked with inflicting as many losses on the enemy as possible. Every meter of Ukrainian territory costs the enemy hundreds of lives," he stated.
"There are a lot more Russians here than we have ammunition to kill."
The past few days have seen alarm in Russia at its own potential vulnerabilities after Moscow reported a number of drone attacks on targets deep within Russia, followed by what it said was an armed cross-border raid on Thursday. President Vladimir Putin told his Security Council on Friday to step up "anti-terrorism measures." One, shaking the president's hand from bed, apologized that he could not stand up." That's OK," Zelenskiy said.
In Washington, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced another round of military aid for Ukraine, worth $400 million in ammunition and other assistance. Since Russia's invasion on February 24, 2022, the US has provided nearly $32 billion in aid to Ukraine. US President Joe Biden thanked visiting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for his "profound" support for Ukraine at the White House. Following their meeting, the White House stated that the two reiterated their commitment to levying sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
Some Western allies have criticized Scholz for taking a cautious public stance on arming Ukraine, despite the fact that he has overseen a significant shift in policy from a country that was Russia's largest energy customer prior to the war.
Oleksii Makeiev, Ukraine's ambassador in Berlin, stated that Germany is now taking a more active role in arming Ukraine.
Moscow accuses pro-Western Kyiv of posing a security threat, despite the fact that it claims to have annexed nearly a fifth of Ukraine.
On Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused the United States of hypocrisy, citing US military interventions around the world, after Blinken said Moscow cannot be allowed to wage war in Ukraine with impunity. The two men met briefly on the sidelines of a G20 meeting of foreign ministers in India.