See also whole The war of the weekwhere SVT Nyheter deepens the latest news developments in the Ukraine war, in eight minutes.
Fierce fighting for Bakhmut has continued as Russian troops have pressed on while the Ukrainian military refuses to leave the war-torn town.
– If that town falls to Russia, it will be easier for them to attack two larger cities, Kramatorsk and Slovyansk. If Russia were to gain control of the two cities, it would be real success on the battlefield, says SVT’s foreign reporter.
Last fall, Russia mobilized over 300,000 people for military service. Now most of them are fully trained and have been deployed or are ready to be deployed in combat in Ukraine.
Something that will contribute to an even more brutal and merciless war, believes SVT’s foreign reporter Bert Sundström.
– What we see from the war right now is that it is quite reminiscent of the First World War with thousands of soldiers in trenches, mud, in miserable conditions.