FOG BLOG UKRAINE WAR LOG: RUSSIAN FORCES MAKE GAINS ON BAKHMUT , SOURCES SAY RUSSIA MAY TAKE CONTROL

Russian forces hammer Ukraine's Bakhmut in quest for breakthrough in war

• Early spring thaw turns eastern battlefields to mud

• Russian forces advance north and south of Bakhmut

• Kremlin: Kyiv must accept loss of lands annexed by Russia

KYIV, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Russian forces on Tuesday pressed forward their weeks-long drive to encircle and capture the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, where the Ukrainian military described the attacks as constant.

Taking Bakhmut, the scene of some of the year-long war's bloodiest battles, would be Russia's first major prize in more than six months. It would open the way to seizing the last remaining urban centres in the Donetsk region, one of four Moscow claims to have annexed. "In the Bakhmut sector, the enemy is launching offensive action and is continuously attacking Bakhmut," said the regular evening statement by the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. While most of the Russian attacks were focused on Bakhmut and other towns and villages in Donetsk province, the statement said Russian forces shelled more than 20 settlements in northern regions near the Russian border: Chernihiv, Sumy and Kharkiv.