NATO allies weigh more arms for Ukraine as Russian artillery batters Bakhmut

Ukrainian servicemen drive along a street with BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicle in the frontline town of Bakhmut, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine February 9, 2023. REUTERS/Yevhenii Zavhorodnii

KYIV/MARINKA, Ukraine (Reuters) - Russian forces bombarded front-line Ukrainian troops and towns in the eastern Donetsk region on Tuesday in what appeared to be early salvoes of a new offensive, as Western allies met to weigh sending more arms to Kyiv for an expected counter-attack.

Much of Russia's artillery fire was focused on Bakhmut, a bombed-out city in Donetsk province and a principal target for President Vladimir Putin. Ukrainian troops there have fortified positions in anticipation of street fighting.