In Pictures
Photos: Ukrainian forces defending Bakhmut as civilians flee
For months, Bakhmut has been a key target of Moscow’s grinding eastern offensive.
![A woman reacts to the sound of shelling as she stands outside her house in the village of Chasiv Yar](/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/33AJ2CY-highres-e1678037505723.jpg?resize=1170%2C780&quality=80)
Pressure is mounting on Ukrainian troops holding out in the eastern city of Bakhmut.
The Ukrainian army is trying to help civilians flee the city, which Russian forces have spent months trying to capture.
A woman was reportedly killed while two men were severely wounded on Saturday as they were attempting to flee over a makeshift bridge.
Western analysts say the Ukrainian military may be mulling a controlled pullout from the city. UK military intelligence officials and a Washington-based think tank report that Ukraine has moved to destroy strategic bridges near the city.
A Russian victory in Bakhmut, with a pre-war population of about 70,000, would give it the first major prize in a costly winter offensive after it called up hundreds of thousands of reservists last year.
Russia says it would be a stepping stone to completing the capture of the Donbas industrial region, one of Moscow’s most important objectives.
Before the war, Bakhmut was known for salt and gypsum mines. Ukraine says the city has little strategic value, and the vast casualties Russia has suffered trying to take Bakhmut could shape the course of the conflict.
![A local elderly woman cooks outside a residential building in the town of Bakhmut, in the Donetsk region](/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/33AG9L4-highres.jpg?fit=1170%2C777&quality=80)
![Ukrainian servicemen fire a 105mm Howitzer towards Russian positions, near the city of Bakhmut](/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/33AJ2BZ-highres.jpg?fit=1170%2C780&quality=80)
![A general view shows buildings damaged by a Russian military strike, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues](/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/2023-03-03T192413Z_1439970664_RC2FMZ9FESP4_RTRMADP_3_UKRAINE-CRISIS-BAKHMUT.jpg?fit=1170%2C815&quality=80)
![A Ukrainian police officer helps en elderly woman as she evacuates to safe areas in Chasiv Yar near Bakhmut](/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/AP23063396208769.jpg?fit=1170%2C780&quality=80)
![A Ukrainian police van drives on the highway for evacuation civilians in Khromove near Bakhmut](/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/AP23063396838265-1.jpg?fit=1170%2C780&quality=80)
![A Ukrainian serviceman speaks with his wife through a smart-phone in a shelter in the town of Bakhmut](/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/33AG8YP-highres.jpg?fit=1170%2C780&quality=80)
![Ukrainian servicemen rest in a shelter in the town of Bakhmut, in the Donetsk region](/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/33AG8WQ-highres.jpg?fit=1170%2C788&quality=80)
![Hennadiy Mazepa and his wife Natalia Ishkova collect wood from a house which was destroyed by Russian forces in Chasiv Yar, Ukraine](/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/AP23062764159999.jpg?fit=1170%2C780&quality=80)
![Tetiana Hurieieva, the mother of Volodymyr Hurieiev, a Ukrainian soldier killed in the Bakhmut area](/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/AP23063811116810.jpg?fit=1170%2C780&quality=80)
![A Ukrainian tank drives towards frontline positions near Bakhmut, Ukraine](/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/AP23063396234116-1.jpg?fit=1170%2C780&quality=80)
![An elderly woman herds goats in the village of Siversk](/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/33AJ6HZ-highres.jpg?fit=1170%2C773&quality=80)