Russia pushes advance on Bakhmut, bolsters defenses in south

Fierce battles raged outside Bakhmut as Russian forces pushed their advance on the eastern city with heavy shelling and infantry attacks, Ukraine's presidential office said Monday, with at least five civilians killed and as many wounded in action across the war-torn country in the last 24 hours.

The presidential office said the situation in Bakhmut’s northern suburb of Paraskoviivka is difficult” as Russian forces continued to pummel the area with intense shelling and storming actions.” The nearby town of Vuhledar is also under heavy bombardment.

Russian forces shelled a dozen cities and villages in the Donetsk region in the last 24 hours including in Druzhkivka where a missile hit a hospital and in Pokrovsk where shelling damaged seven houses and a kindergarten.