KYIV—The city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine was coming heavy Russian artillery fire on Monday as Ukrainian forces there braced for possible ground attacks, Ukrainian military officials said.
Positions in Bakhmut have been fortified and only people with a military role were being allowed in, a deputy battalion commander said. Any civilians who still wanted to leave the city would have to brave the incoming fire, he said.
Bakhmut, in the Donetsk region, is a major objective for Russian President Vladimir Putin and months of Russian shelling have already left much of it in ruins.
With the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion approaching and a big new Kremlin offensive anticipated, the situation there has become even more acute….