Zelensky says Ukraine will fight to hold Bakhmut 'for as long as we can'

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has said his country's forces will fight to hold on to the eastern city of Bakhmut for as long as they can, despite an intensifying Russian offensive.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky

Photo: EPA/SERGEY DOLZHENKO

"No one will surrender Bakhmut," Zelensky told a news conference following a summit with top European Union officials in Kyiv on Friday.

"We will fight for as long as we can," he vowed, as quoted by Ukrainian state news agency Ukrinform.

#stoprussia #UkrainianArmy
Zelensky: No one will surrender #Bakhmut. We’ll fight for as long as we can https://t.co/JUKWglRViR

— Ukrinform-EN (@Ukrinform_News) February 3, 2023

'We see Bakhmut as our fortress'

"We see Bakhmut as our fortress," he added, according to Ukrinform.

Zelenskyy about the battles for #Bakhmut: "No one will surrender Bakhmut. We will fight as long as we can." pic.twitter.com/Ap1fFZ2hbT

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) February 3, 2023

Zelensky reiterated his request for the West to supply long-range weapons to help his country drive Russian forces out of the eastern Donbas region, Polish state news agency PAP reported.

"Ukraine would be able to hold Bakhmut and liberate occupied Donbas if it received long-range weapons," Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv on Friday, as quoted by the Reuters news agency.

Ukraine is a true inspiration for Europe.

We will support your fast recovery and your reconstruction.

And we will make Russia pay for the brutal destruction it is causing ↓ https://t.co/IAtQqMWing

— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) February 3, 2023

The United States is preparing a new security assistance package for Ukraine that will include longer-range rockets for the first time, according to news reports.

Friday is day 345 of Russia’s war against Ukraine. 

(gs)

Source: IAR, PAP, Reuters, ukrinform.net