Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has vowed not to retreat from Bakhmut, a strategic point in the eastern region of Donetsk, while Russia is intensifying its attacks on the city to take control of the region.

Some Western analysts suggest that Russia is losing its best forces in the battle for the city.

The general staff of Ukraine's armed forces said on Tuesday that Russia has not stopped assaulting the city and its surrounding areas despite huge losses.

Zelenskyy on Monday reiterated his will to continue fighting there. He said, "Bakhmut has yielded and is yielding one of the greatest results during this war, during the entire battle of Donbas."

Britain's defense ministry said on Tuesday that "Ukrainian forces likely stabilized their defensive perimeter following previous Russian advances into the north of the town" over the weekend.

A US think tank, the Institute for the Study of War, said Russia may be significantly losing its forces in its efforts to take control of Bakhmut.

The institute said in its assessment on Monday that "the Battle of Bakhmut may, in fact, severely degrade the Wagner Group's best forces, depriving Russia of some of its most effective and most difficult-to-replace shock troops." The Wagner Group is a Russian private military firm.