Zelensky: Ukraine will not surrender Bakhmut.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Feb. 3 that Ukraine “will not surrender” the front-line city of Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast.

“No one will surrender Bakhmut. We will fight as long as we can,” Zelensky said at a press conference following a historic Ukraine-EU summit in Kyiv, as quoted by Ukrainian news agency Interfax.

The Ukraine-EU summit is an annual event as part of Article 5 of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU.

Russian regular forces, along with Kremlin-controlled mercenary group Wagner, have been attempting to capture Bakhmut for months as Russia tries to consolidate its grip over the entirety of Donetsk Oblast, half of which it currently controls.

Russian troops have recently captured settlements north and south of Bakhmut and are trying to cut off all supply lines leading to the embattled town.

At least 5,990 civilians, including 200 children, are still living in Bakhmut, according to local law enforcement.

Capturing Bakhmut would allow Russia to disrupt Ukraine’s supply lines in the area and open up a main road leading to the two key Ukrainian cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.