Russian forces shelled several cities and Ukrainian forces along front lines in the eastern Donetsk region on Tuesday, in what appeared to be a prelude to a new offensive, as Western allies met in Brussels to discuss sending more weapons to the Kiev government.
Meanwhile, the head of the Wagner Armed Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said today, Tuesday, that the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut - the center of battles in the east of the country in recent months - will not fall soon, despite the recent Russian advances.
The city of Bakhmut is located in the Donetsk region, and it is a regional center for land transportation, railways and logistics, and it has been a major target for the Russian army and has been under bombardment for months, which led to the destruction of many of its cities.
"Not a single square meter in Bakhmut is safe or out of range of enemy fire or drones," the governor of the Donetsk region, Pavlo Kirilenko, told Ukraine's National Radio.
He added that Russian artillery was bombing targets along the front lines in Donetsk, which together with Luhansk make up the Donbass region, Ukraine's industrial heartland and one of the Russians' main targets.
For its part, the Ukrainian army said that its forces had repelled, over the past 24 hours, Russian attacks in 5 communities in the Lugansk region and 6 in the Donetsk region, including the city of Bakhmut.
The forces also repelled an attack on a town in the Kharkiv region bordering Russia in northeastern Ukraine.
As the year of the war approaches, the Russian army has intensified its operations in southern and eastern Ukraine, and is widely expected to launch a major new offensive.
The Wagner Group has been leading the attack on Bakhmut since the summer, and finally took control of a series of nearby towns in an attempt to surround the city, but the head of the Wagner Group ruled out the fall of Bakhmut soon.
And his media office wrote - on his Telegram channel - "We will not be celebrating anytime soon" about the city's fall.
"Bakhmut will not be captured tomorrow because there is strong resistance, continuous bombardment, the meat grinder is working," he added, referring to the heavy losses on the battlefield.
The city of Bakhmut, which had a population of 70,000 before the war, was largely destroyed during the continuous fighting for more than 6 months, leaving heavy human losses on both sides.
Although its strategic importance is subject to controversy, the city has become a symbol of the struggle between Moscow and Kiev to control this industrial region in the east of the country.
Part of the meeting of NATO defense ministers today in Brussels, where they discussed providing Ukraine with more weapons (Reuters)
Supplying arms to Ukraine
Ahead of a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Western countries should increase supplies of ammunition to Kiev.
Stoltenberg told reporters that there were no indications that Russian President Vladimir Putin was ready for peace in Ukraine, and accused him of preparing new attacks.
The United States and NATO pledged today, Tuesday, to continue Western support for Ukraine in light of its urgent need for more military aid.
And Germany announced that it had signed contracts with the Rheinmetall arms manufacturing company, in order to resume the production of ammunition for the Gibbard anti-aircraft guns that it delivered to Kiev.
The Norwegian government also announced today, Tuesday, that it will send 8 German-made "Leopard 2" tanks and other equipment to Ukraine to help it in the war with Russia.
Today, the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andrei Yermak, had a telephone conversation with US National Security Adviser Jack Sullivan, during which he informed him of the current situation on the front. Yermak said that the two sides discussed - during the call - the strong support that the United States will continue to provide to Ukraine as the anniversary of the war approaches, and they also stressed The importance of intensifying communication.