''Hellish War in Bkhmut Eastern Ukraine''

Wagner's boss Yevgeny Prigozhin said his aide had been barred from the military's operational headquarters after Prigozhin formally demanded more ammunition

President Zelenskiy's office said he had discussed the operation on Monday with his chief of the general staff and commander of ground forces, who both spoke in favour of continuing the defensive operations in Bkhmut

The Ukrainian army said Sunday that its troops had fought off more than 130 Russian attacks in a single day around Bakhmut and said Moscow's forces were trying to encircle the city.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he would not predict when or if Ukrainian troops might leave the city, but that its fall won's necessarily mean that the Russians have changed the tide of this fight

The status of the besieged city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine is unclear after conflicting reports at the weekend over how much of the city was controlled by Russian forces, and whether Ukrainian forces were starting to withdraw.