Russian troops and mercenaries were closing off the last access routes to the besieged Ukrainian city of Bakhmut on Friday, on the cusp of Moscow's first major victory in half a year after the bloodiest fighting of the war.
The head of Russia's Wagner private army said the city, which has been blasted to ruins, was now almost completely surrounded, with only one route out left open for Ukraine's troops.
Reuters journalists west of the city saw Ukrainians digging new trenches for defensive positions there, and the commander of a Ukrainian drone unit inside the city for months said he had been ordered to withdraw.
Victory in Bakhmut, with a pre-war population of about 70,000, would give Russia the first major prize of a costly winter offensive after it called up hundreds of thousands of reservists last year. It says it would be a stepping stone to capturing the surrounding Donbas region, an important war aim.
Ukraine recaptured swathes of territory in the second half of 2022 but its forces have been on the defensive for three months. It says the city has little strategic value but that the huge losses there could determine the course of the war.
Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, appearing in combat uniform in a video filmed on a rooftop, urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to order a retreat from Bakhmut to save his soldiers' lives.
"Units of the private military company Wagner have practically surrounded Bakhmut. Only one route (out) is left," he said. "The pincers are closing."
The camera panned to show three captured Ukrainians - a grey-bearded older man and two boys - asking to be allowed to go home. From visible buildings, Reuters determined the footage was filmed in Paraskoviivka, a village 7 km (4.3 miles) north of the centre of Bakhmut.
Both sides say they have inflicted devastating losses in Bakhmut. Kyiv has said its forces are still holding out there, while acknowledging the situation has deteriorated this week.
Volodymyr Nazarenko, a deputy commander in the National Guard of Ukraine, told Ukrainian NV Radio the situation was "critical", with fighting going on "round the clock".
"They take no account of their losses in trying to take the city by assault. The task of our forces in Bakhmut is to inflict as many losses on the enemy as possible. Every metre of Ukrainian land costs hundreds of lives to the enemy," he said.
"We need as much ammunition as possible. There are many more Russians here than we have ammunition to destroy them."
The commander of a Ukrainian drone unit active in Bakhmut, Robert Brovdi who goes by the name "Madyar", said in a video posted on social media that his unit had been ordered by the military to withdraw immediately from the city.
He said he had been fighting there for 110 days, and gave no reason for the order to leave.
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