Desperate civilians flee Bakhmut on foot amid fears it could soon fall to Russian forces | War latest

A woman has been killed and two men have been badly wounded while trying to cross a makeshift bridge out of Bakhmut, according to Ukrainian troops. 

The victims were trying to flee the embattled city when they were caught in a shelling attack, the soldiers, who had been assisting them, said.

A Ukrainian army representative told The Associated Press (AP) that it is now too dangerous for civilians to leave the city by vehicle, with people fleeing on foot instead.

Bakhmut resident Hennadiy Mazepa and his wife Natalia Ishkova both chose to remain in Bakhmut, even as fierce battles reduced much of the city to rubble. 

Speaking to the AP, Ishkova said: “Humanitarian (aid) is given to us only once a month. There is no electricity, no water, no gas,” she said.

“I pray to God that all who remain here will survive.”

For months, Bakhmut has been a key target of Moscow’s eastern offensive, with Russian troops, including large forces from the private Wagner Group, inching ever closer to Kyiv’s key eastern stronghold.

An AP team near Bakhmut saw a pontoon bridge set up by Ukrainian soldiers to help the city’s few remaining residents reach the nearby village of Khromove.

Ukrainian units over the last 36 hours destroyed two key bridges just outside Bakhmut, including one linking it to the nearby town of Chasiv Yar along the last remaining Ukrainian resupply route, according to UK military intelligence officials and other Western analysts.

The UK Ministry of Defence said the destruction of the bridges came as Russian fighters made further inroads into Bakhmut’s northern suburbs, ratcheting up the pressure on its Ukrainian defenders.