Bakhmut has turned into a Russian “feast of slaughter”.

America’s top general said the city of Bakhmut had become a “battleground for the Russians” and that Vladimir Putin’s forces were being “pounded” by Ukraine.

In the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine Fighting in recent months has centered on Bakhmutwith Kiev saying it was waiting in the city center to exhaust Russian troops.

General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Congress about 6,000 Mercenaries of the Wagner group fought in Bakhmut.

He said: “They are currently mainly conducting combat operations in Bakhmut. It’s probably about 6,000 real mercenaries and maybe another 20,000 or 30,000 recruits they get, Many of them come from prisons.

“They are suffering an enormous number of casualties in the Bakhmut area. The Ukrainians inflict a lot of death and destruction on these guys.”

He said the Russians had made “no progress at all” in the past 21 days and it had been “very costly”.

The general added: “So this is a feast for the Russians. They are hammered near Bakhmut and the Ukrainians fought very, very well.”

Colonel Yevhen Mezhevikin, a Ukrainian commander in Bakhmut, said he was confident that Ukrainian forces could hold the city push back the Russians.

He told the New York Times: “The enemy has exhausted all their reserves. The density of attacks dropped many times over.

“They used to be able to attack in all directions at once and in groups of as many as 20, 30 or 40 people, but it’s gradually fading.”

Avdiivka aimed

Meanwhile, the nearby town of Avdiivka was reportedly razed to the ground by Russian attackswith more than 80 percent of its homes destroyed.

Vitalii Barabash, head of the Avdiivka city’s military administration, said its infrastructure was “completely ruined”.

He said: “It is impossible to restore or repair, only demolish and rebuild. Not a single house is standing anymore. There probably hasn’t been a single building in the city since the summer.”

The story goes on

Having so far failed to capture Bakhmut, Russia has shifted its focus to Avdiivka in recent weeks.

Gen Milley also warned of this growing links between Russia, China and Iran.

He said: “I wouldn’t call it a true full alliance in the true sense of the word, but we’re seeing it [Russia and China] closer together, and that’s annoying.

“Then if you add Iran, these three countries together will be problematic for many years, I think.”