Ukrainian forces repelled fresh Russian attacks on Bakhmut over the past 24 hours, Kyiv said, as the battle for the ruined city in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk continued to exact a heavy toll on both sides as the European Union and the United States pledged to supply Ukraine with badly needed ammunition.
Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine
RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.
Russian forces launched 69 attacks over the past day on Bakhmut and the nearby locations of Avdiyivka, Lyman, Maryinka, and Shakhtarsk, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said in its daily report.
The defense of Bakhmut continues, said Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar, noting that this week marks two months since the fighting for Bakhmut intensified.
"No one believed that under such intense enemy attacks the city could be held for more than a week, two at most," she said. "But thanks to the courage and heroism of thousands of our soldiers, as well as the skillful leadership of our generals and officers, the defense of Bakhmut is holding and the possibilities have not yet been exhausted."
Russian forces continued to shell civilian settlements in the Donetsk and Zaporyzhzhya regions, causing casualties among the civilian population and damaging infrastructure, the military said.
The head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group said his forces controlled "around 70 percent" of Bakhmut and were "continuing operations to complete the liberation of the city."
In a letter to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu published on social media, Yevgeny Prigozhin appealed for equipment necessary to rebuff a Ukrainian counteroffensive he said was due in late March or in April.
Russian and Ukrainian forces have invested heavily in the battle for Bakhmut, even though analysts say the city carries little strategic value.
Ihor Ivin, the Russian-installed head of the Dzhankoya administration, was quoted as saying the city had come under attack from drones, and a 33-year-old man who suffered a shrapnel injury was hospitalized. The man is expected to survive, Ivin said.
Ivin was quoted by Krym-24 TV as saying that a house, school, and grocery store caught fire, and the power grid sustained damage.
Sergei Aksyonov, the Russian-installed head of Crimea, attributed the explosions in Dzhankoya to air defense. He also said one person had been injured.
In the Moscow-occupied part of the southern region of Kherson, Russian forces manning checkpoints have been pushing civilians to take up Russian passports, threatening them with violence and imprisonment, the Ukrainian military report said.
The western part of Kherson, including Kherson city, was liberated by Ukrainian forces in November as Russians retreated across the Dnieper River.
In Brussels, EU foreign and defense ministers agreed to provide 2 billion euros' worth ($2.13 billion) of artillery shells to Ukraine under a deal that will include joint EU ammunition purchases, while the United States announced $350 million in new military aid for Ukraine.
The EU initiative aims to provide Ukraine with 1 million shells in the next 12 months as well as to replenish EU stocks, while the U.S. assistance includes a large amount of ammunition for various weapons systems.
"Russia alone could end its war today. Until Russia does, we will stand united with Ukraine for as long as it takes," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement announcing the additional ammunition for High-Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), Bradley armored fighting vehicles, howitzers, and anti-tank weapons.
"As Russia's unconscionable war of aggression against Ukraine continues at great human cost, we are again reminded of the boundless courage and steadfast resolve of the Ukrainian people, and the strong support for Ukraine across the international community," Blinken said.
The announcement of the additional aid came as Chinese President Xi Jinping was in Moscow to discuss a proposal by China to stop the war that has been met with cynicism by Washington, which sees the plan as a way to validate Russia's gains on the ground.
Kyiv has said it needs 350,000 shells every month to stave off Russia's offensive in the east and to be able to prepare for a counteroffensive this spring.
EU member states have so far given $13 billion worth of military support to Ukraine since the start of Russia's unprovoked invasion.
The bloc's foreign ministers were due at their meeting in Brussels to address Moscow's accountability for forcibly deporting Ukrainian children to Russia as well as measures to facilitate Ukrainian exports.
On March 17, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for his role in the forcible transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia.
The court also issued an arrest warrant for Russia's commissioner for children's rights, Maria Lvova-Belova.