Casualties in Donetsk mount as Russia, Ukraine fight for Bakhmut

A view shows an icon knit inside a house destroyed in recent shelling in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, March 12, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko

KYIV (Reuters) -Both Ukraine and Russia on Sunday reported high casualties in Ukraine's Donetsk region with the slow, long-lasting and bloody fight for the small town of Bakhmut continuing as Moscow presses to advance into its neighbour's territory.

Ukraine forces control west of the now ruined and nearly deserted Bakhmut, while Russia's Wagner Group controls most of the eastern part, British intelligence said, with the Bakhmutka River that bisects the town marking the front line.