Talk of resignation and retreat swirls in Ukraine as Bakhmut enters endgame

Speculation rife that Ukraine’s defence minister will be forced to resign as Russia steps up attacks on eastern side of city

Ukraine’s defence minister sought to dismiss speculation in Kyiv that he would be forced to resign or be reshuffled at a lengthy press conference where he also claimed that Russia was taking 500 casualties a day in Bakhmut.

Oleksii Reznikov, one of Ukraine’s better known figures internationally, has been under pressure after it emerged the defence ministry paid twice or three times the supermarket price of food to supply troops on the frontline.