Ukrainian forces cling on in Bakhmut Macron lobbies Xi to help end war

Ukrainian and Russian forces battled on Thursday in the streets of Bakhmut, eastern Ukraine’s devastated “fortress” city, and Ukrainian soldiers said they were ready to launch their long-anticipated counter-offensive once the weather improves. On the diplomatic front, French President Emmanuel Macron urged Chinese leader Xi Jinping during talks in Beijing to use his influence to persuade Russia to halt hostilities and come to the negotiating table. However, an adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin rated the chances of peace talks starting this year at “zero”. The months-long battle for Bakhmut, one of the last urban centres in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk…