Ukraine has stated its troops are nonetheless advancing on the flanks of the devastated metropolis of Bakhmut, however that the "intensity" of their motion has decreased.
On Saturday Russia stated it had utterly taken the town however Ukrainian officers have stated since then that Kyiv's forcesnonetheless management a small half.
On Monday, Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar reiterated that Ukraine had a small foothold inside the town, which has seen fierce preventing.
"Through our movement on the flanks - to the north and south - we manage to destroy the enemy," she stated in televised feedback.
"By transferring alongside the flanks and occupying sure heights there, our armed forces have made it very tough forthe enemy to remain within the metropolis itself.
"We are still advancing, but the intensity is somewhat reduced," she stated.
In put up on the Telegram messaging app, she wrote: "The enemy's offensive potential has been significantly reduced, huge losses have been inflicted on the enemy (and) we have gained time for certain actions which will be discussed later."
At the weekend, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy likened the devastation in Bakhmut to that inflicted on Hiroshima in Japan following the dropping of the atomic bomb in 1945.
Mr Zelenskyy declared "there is nothing left" and stated the invading forces had "destroyed everything", fuelling hypothesis it had fallen.
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It got here after Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated his troops for capturing the town, which is within the Donetsk area.
The Kremlin's defence ministry and head of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, had each claimed the area was under Russian control on Saturday.
But talking on the finish of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, the place he had been looking for to rally worldwide assist, the Ukrainian chief stated: "I clearly perceive what's going down in Bakhmut.
"I cannot share with you the tactical views of our military, of our warriors.
"But as of immediately we see that the nation which is dozens instances greater than we're, can not occupy us, can not win on this conflict.
"Bakhmut is not occupied by Russian Federation as of today."
Mr Zelenskyy added: "Let me be sincere that the pictures of ruined Hiroshima really remind me, totally remind me, of Bakhmut and other similar settlements and towns.
"Just the identical - nothing alive left, all the buildings have been ruined, there is no such thing as a understanding the place the road is, the place the homes was once.
"This is just a totally destroyed area, nothing left, not a single person left."
Analysts have stated Bakhmut's fall could be a blow to Ukraine and provides some tactical benefits to Russia however wouldn't show decisive to the end result of the conflict.
Russian forces would nonetheless face the large activity of seizing the remaining a part of the Donetsk area nonetheless underneath Ukrainian management, together with a number of closely fortified areas.
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