Published by
Reuters UK
Reuters UK
By Leonardo Bennasatto and Lisi Niesner CHASIV YAR, Ukraine (Reuters) -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, while the commande…