'The city is a fortress': Bakhmut under heavy fire as Ukraine braces for Russian ground assault

The city of Bakhmut in Eastern Ukraine was coming under 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.

"The reality is we have seen the start (of a Russianoffensive) already because we see now what Russia does now President (Vladimir)Putin does now is to send thousands and thousandsmore troops, accepting a very high rate of casualty," NATO Secretary GeneralJens Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels.

With the first anniversary of Russia's invasion approaching and a big new Kremlin offensive anticipated, the situation there has become even more acute.

'Crazy, chaotic shelling'

"The city, the city's suburbs, the entire perimeter, and essentially the entire Bakhmut direction and Kostyantynivka are under crazy, chaotic shelling," said Volodymyr Nazarenko, deputy commander of Ukraine's Soboda battalion.

"Every road is being shelled by artillery in a chaotic way."

Nazarenko said that although no fighting was taking place in the city centreright now, the defenders were prepared to meet any assault.

"The city is a fortress;every position and every street there, almost every building, is a fortress," he said.

The capture of Bakhmut would give Putin a new foothold in the Donetsk region and a rare victory after several months of setbacks. The Russian assault has been spearheaded by mercenaries of the Wagner group, who have made small but steady gains.

Donetsk and Luhansk regions make up the Donbas, Ukraine's industrial heartland. Russia partially occupies it and wants to win full control.

Russia claimsprogress on front lines

Earlier on Monday, the Russian defence ministry said its troops had pushed forward a few kilometresalong the front lines, without specifying exactly where in a war zone that encompasses several regions in the south and east.

The Ukrainian military reported Russian shelling all along the front line and said 16 settlements had been bombarded near Bakhmut. It said that over the past day, its forces had repelled a number of attacks near Bakhmut as well as assaults in Kharkiv, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions.

Luhansk Gov.Serhiy Haidai said Russian forces had attacked Bilogorivka from all sides before dawn on Monday.

"But our forces fought back there," he told Ukrainian television. "It was the same situation in the direction of Kreminna a lot of them [Russians]appeared there. But they pulled back after the fight with our forces."

Repeating comments he made last week that Russian attacks have been stepped up ahead of a new offensive, he said: "Preparations for this offensive are already under way, the amount of shelling, air strikes and attacks by small groups has already increased. We are waiting for them to start massive round-the-clock attacks."

Reuters was not able to independently verify the battlefield reports.

Possible further military aid

The United Nations' human rights office said on Monday that it had recorded 7,199 civilian deaths and 11,756 injured sincethe start of the Feb. 24 invasion, mostly from shelling and missile and airstrikes. However, it believed the actual figure was far higher.

With Ukraine desperate for more weapons and munitions toturn the tide of the war, defence ministers from several NATOcountries allied to Kyiv will meet in Brussels on Tuesday todiscuss possible further military aid.Ukraine says it needs fighter jets and long-range missilesto counter the offensive and recapture lost territory.

NATO's Stoltenberg said he expected the issue of aircraft tobe discussed at the meeting, but that Ukraine needed urgentsupport on the ground now.

• CBC News has been on the ground covering Russia's invasion of Ukraine from the start. What do you want to know about their experience there? Send an email to ask@cbc.ca. Our reporters will be taking your questions as the one-year anniversary approaches.

NATO said on Monday it would increase targets for thestockpiling of ammunition as Kyiv is burning through shells muchfaster than Western countries can produce. A year of war inUkraine has left allied stocks badly depleted.

"The current rate of Ukraine's ammunition expenditure ismany times higher than our current rate of production,"Stoltenberg told reporters.

A European diplomat told Reuters: "If Europe were to fightRussia, some countries would run out of ammunition in days."

Do not travel to Russia: U.S. Embassy

The U.S. Embassy in Moscow issued another warning to U.S. citizens not to travel to Russia for fear of harassment or detention, and urged them to leave immediately if they have to travel there.

The warning cited "the potential for harassment and the singling out of U.S. citizens for detention by Russian government security officials, the arbitrary enforcement of local law, limited flights into and out of Russia, the embassy's limited ability to assist U.S. citizens in Russia, and the possibility of terrorism."

The embassy also noted that Russian authorities may sweep up U.S. citizens who also hold Russian citizenship in a possible renewed mobilization of reservists.

"Russia may refuse to acknowledge dual nationals' U.S. citizenship, deny their access to U.S. consular assistance, subject them to mobilization, prevent their departure from Russia, and/or conscript them," the warning said.

Since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine last February, the embassy has regularly issued advisories for U.S. citizens not to travel to Russia and leave if they already have.

Kremlin spokespersonDmitry Peskov denied Monday that a second round of mobilization is looming.

Sporadic food and water deliveries

Although many people have fled the Donetsk province where the bulk of the fighting is concentrated, those who opted to stay depend on sporadic aid deliveries of food and water.

In the city of Sviatohirsk, in northern Donetsk, the few residents who remain rely on volunteers with the organization World Central Kitchen for food and supplies to cope with freezing temperatures. Sviatohirsk was liberated by Ukrainian forces in September.

On Sunday, the area was blanketed with snow, concealing the massive destruction from repeated bombardments and heavy fighting.

Standing by the ruins of the city council building, resident Valeriy Andrievskiy said the building used to be "beautiful."

"God forbid our forces retreat and we stay [behind enemy lines]. God forbid. I will not survive this one more time," he said.

Walking near the ruins of her home, 80-year-old Tamara Yevdokimova said she had been "tortured" by Russian forces.

"I haven't been able to hear for five months.... They [Russians]have knocked my teeth out. What can I do?" she said. In her yard were the burned out remnants of a Russian tank.

'I will return to you, believe me'

People who left the front lines in search of safety are still struggling to adapt to a new life elsewhere. In Kyiv, dozens of people from Donbas, Kherson and Kharkiv regions are being helped by Center of Hope and Recovery, an organization that provides temporary homes and meals.

"These are people who have left in the past what they have earned for years, and this is a very traumatic experience," said the head of the centreAnna Harkun. They receive psychological and medical help, while volunteers help them find work and permanent lodging, she added.

Russian rockets destroyed the home of 80-year-old Anatoly Zakharenko in Ternyvillagein Donetsk. His wife, daughter, and disabled granddaughter were all evacuated from the area and are being helped in the city.

Missing his hometown, he wrote a poem to ease the pain of displacement. "I will return to you, believe me," he said, reading it aloud.

CBC News has been on the ground covering Russia's invasion of Ukraine from the start. What do you want to know about their experience there? Send an email to ask@cbc.ca. Our reporters will be taking your questions as the one-year anniversaryapproaches.