Ukraine live briefing: Russian fighters claim to be closing in on Bakhmut; Biden and Scholz to meet

KHARKIV OBLAST, Ukraine — Fierce fighting is raging for the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, as the head of the Russian Wagner mercenary group claimed his fighters had “practically surrounded” the city. However, a Ukrainian soldier defending the city told The Washington Post Ukrainian forces still controlled the city and had not been ordered to retreat, even as Russian forces were “constantly hitting the city randomly with artillery, grads and mortars.”