As Russia Increases Shelling and Air Strikes On Bakhmut, Ukraine Retaliates With Its Own

Ukrainian troops fire a BM-21 Grad multiple-rocket launcher toward Russian positions on the front line near Bakhmut in the Donetsk region on April 18.

Moscow's forces are stepping up their use of heavy artillery and air strikes in the devastated eastern city of Bakhmut, the commander of Ukraine's ground forces said on April 18.

"Currently, the enemy is increasing the activity of heavy artillery and the number of air strikes, turning the city into ruins," General Oleksandr Syrskiy said in a statement.

Syrskiy added that the Kremlin's forces remain committed to taking Bakhmut "at any cost" but were suffering significant losses in the battle.

An artilleryman waits in his vehicle as his unit fires a BM-21 Grad multiple-rocket launcher toward Russian positions.

Despite the brutal combat between Ukrainian and Russian forces, Kyiv's outnumbered and outgunned fighters are still holding onto the western part of Bakhmut.

Ukrainian artillerymen rest near their vehicles.

The capture of Bakhmut would allow Russian forces to advance deeper into the Donetsk region where the industrial cities of Kramatorsk and Slovyansk await.

A Ukrainian soldier scans the sky with binoculars...

...while another relaxes by playing an accordion.

Kyiv admits that its forces have paid a heavy price defending "Fortress Bakhmut," a city that held around 70,000 people before the Russian invasion. The brutal fighting is being called the bloodiest infantry battle since World War II.

A Ukrainian soldier uses a drone to locate Russian positions near Bakhmut on April 16.

The drone operator views his screen in search of targets to fire on.

The head of the Wagner mercenary group, which has led Moscow's attempt to seize Bakhmut, said this month that its fighters controlled more than 80 percent of the city, a claim denied by Kyiv.

Smoke rises above a Russian position after it was targeted. 

Kyiv's military is widely expected to mount a counteroffensive in the coming weeks or months aimed at recapturing Russian-held territory.