Russia Close to Encircling Ukraine’s Bakhmut After Months of Fighting

A Ukrainian service member is seen in a trench at a position outside the frontline town of Horlivka, in Donetsk region, Ukraine, on March 3, 2023. Anna Kudriavtseva/Reuters

CHASIV YAR, Ukraine—Russian artillery pounded the last routes out of Bakhmut on Friday, aiming to complete the encirclement of the besieged Ukrainian city and bring Moscow closer to its first major victory in half a year.

The head of Russia’s Wagner private army said the city was almost completely surrounded with only one road still open for Ukraine’s troops.