Ukrainian forces are fighting with all their might in the city of Bakhmut where heavy fighting has been going on for days. According to a deputy commander of the Ukrainian National Guard, Ukrainian forces control a key route in and out of the city.

“The Armed Forces of Ukraine hold the Bakhmut-Kostiantynivka highway, it is quite stable”said Volodymyr Nazarenko, who is second in command in the Svoboda Order. “The situation around Bahamut as well as its surroundings is akin to hell, as it is on the entire eastern front” he added.

The Bakhmut-Kostiantynivka highway is a critical route for transporting supplies into the city, and Ukrainian forces are struggling to keep it under their control.

Nazarenko also said there were no “tactical changes” on the Ukrainian side, adding that “we are on the defensive.”

“The enemy looks for weaknesses, tries to distract our forces by fighting, distracting our reserves, tries to combine different methods and tactics. However, they fail”he said.

At the same time, he dismissed growing speculation about a possible Ukrainian withdrawal from the city.

“There is no withdrawal. Instead, some new reserves come in as reinforcements to hold the defense. The whole area is constantly bombarded, but there is a connection to the city, there are routes that are not cut off.” he said.

“In this hell, every day feels like an eternity. It is really difficult to count how many months Bahamut resists. However, they cannot understand the city,” continued the sub-commander.