Russian forces are now trying - but failing - to oust Ukrainian fighters from the “dominant heights” overlooking Bakhmut. “The battle for the Bakhmut area hasn’t stopped it is ongoing, just taking different forms,” said Maliar, dressed in her characteristic fatigues in an interview from a military media center in Kyiv. The fight, she said, is evolving into a new phase. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said Russia sought to create the impression of calm around Bakhmut, but in fact, artillery shelling still goes on at levels similar to those at the height of the battle to take the city. Instead, they are keeping up the pressure and continuing the fight from positions on the western fringes of Bakhmut. But Ukrainian defenders like Shiryaev aren’t retreating. Russian forces declared victory in the eastern city last month after the longest, deadliest battle since their full-scale invasion of Ukraine began 15 months ago. “We fight for every tree, every trench, every dugout.” “We are moving forward,” Shiryaev said after at least one drone image showed a Russian fighter struck down. A mortar tube popped out a loud orange blast, and an explosion cut a new crater in an already pockmarked hillside. The leader of the 225th Battalion of the 127th Kharkiv Territorial Defense Brigade then ordered a mortar team to get ready. OUTSIDE BAKHMUT, Ukraine (AP) - Watching imagery from a drone camera overhead, Ukrainian battalion commander Oleg Shiryaev warned his men in nearby trenches that Russian forces were advancing across a field toward a patch of trees outside the city of Bakhmut.
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