Ukraine clings to Bakhmut, Blinken tells Lavrov US to back Kyiv all the way

FILE PHOTO: Ukrainian service members ride a self-propelled howitzer, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, near the frontline city of Bakhmut, Ukraine February 27, 2023. REUTERS/Yevhen Titov

CHASIV YAR, Ukraine (Reuters) - Ukrainian forces held out in the eastern city of Bakhmut against Russian attackers on Thursday, while the top U.S. diplomat told Russia's foreign minister in their first in person encounter since the invasion that the Kremlin must stop the war.

In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin said Russia had been hit by what he called a terrorist attack in its southern Bryansk region bordering Ukraine.