President Volodymyr Zelensky is insisting that Ukrainian forces will not withdraw from Bakhmut, despite indications just days ago that a retreat was imminent.

Zelensky said in his nightly address that he had met with Ukraine’s top generals for more than an hour on Monday to discuss the situation in Bakhmut and that their directive was clear: “Do not withdraw.” Instead, “Reinforce.”

Ukraine’s most senior military commander, General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, and the commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrsky, delivered this message to Zelensky.

Their recommendation — to stay and fight — was “unanimously backed by the staff”, Zelensky said. “There is no part of Ukraine about which one can say that it can be abandoned,” Zelensky added.

“There is no Ukrainian trench in which the resilience and heroism of our warriors would be disregarded.”

Bakhmut, the ravaged city in the Donbas region, has become the focal point of Moscow’s wide-ranging offensive in eastern Ukraine.

The seven-month battle for the city has become Russia’s longest-running sustained assault since the invasion last year, and the fighting environment has become particularly brutal, with freezing temperatures and casualties piling up on both sides.