Will not give away ‘fortress’ Bakhmut, fight as long as we can: Ukraine President Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that Ukraine will fight to hold the 'fortress' city of Bakhmut for as long as it could. Bakhmut is a city located in eastern Ukraine. Zelensky urged the West to supply long-range weapons to Ukraine to help it push Russia out of Donbas.

"Nobody will give away Bakhmut. We will fight for as long as we can. We consider Bakhmut our fortress," Zelenskiy told a news conference with top European Union officials following a summit in Kyiv.

"If weapons (supplies) are quickened, specifically long range weapons, we not only will not leave Bakhmut, but we will also begin to de-occupy Donbas, which has been occupied since 2014," he said.

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The city of Bakhmut has become the focal point of Ukrainian resistance to Russia's invasion and of Moscow’s drive to regain battlefield momentum.

Russian officials have said Russian forces are encircling Bakhmut from several directions and battling to take control of a road which is also an important supply route for Ukrainian forces.

Zelensky said Russia would continue to push in the east but that Ukrainian forces would be able to hold out until more Western weapons arrived.

Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year. After sustained territorial gains in the initial months of the conflict, Russian forces have had to retreat from many regions in the face of Ukrainian counterattack.

The head of the EU's executive Commission and the chairman of the 27 EU national leaders have travelled to Kyiv to demonstrate support for Ukraine as the first anniversary of Russia's Feb. 24 invasion of its neighbour approaches.

Zelenskiy, flanked by the EU leaders at a news conference, said European sanctions should aim to ensure Russia cannot rebuild its military capability. And he had a defiant message on Bakhmut, the focal point of Ukrainian resistance to Russia's invasion and of Moscow’s drive to regain battlefield momentum.

NO EU FAST TRACK

Zelenskiy has called for more punitive EU sanctions against Russia, though new measures the bloc is preparing for the anniversary of the invasion are set to fall short of his government's demands.

Ukraine applied to join the EU days after Russia invaded last year. The EU has embraced the application, although it has rebuffed Ukraine's calls for a fast track to membership while the country is at war.

"The EU will support Ukraine and the Ukrainian people against Russia's ongoing war of aggression for as long as it takes," the EU leaders were expected to say a joint statement, a draft of which was seen by Reuters in advance.

(With inputs from agencies)

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