Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday Russian forces had failed to capture the eastern city of Bakhmut before the May 9 Russian holiday marking the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two.
A Ukrainian general said on Sunday that Russia was still hoping to capture Bakhmut before Tuesday's Victory Day events, and a military spokesman said fighting there continued on Tuesday.
Fierce fighting in Bakhmut has lasted months and Moscow sees capturing the city as a stepping stone to taking other cities in Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland.
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