The Ukrainians acknowledged: the Russians succeeded

Volodymyr Zelensky said yesterday morning that the loss of Bakhmut could undermine Ukraine's momentum, forcing them to compromise with Vladimir Putin.
Since then, the General Staff of its armed forces announced that the Russian offensive had "a certain degree of success".
"The enemy forces had a certain degree of success in their actions aimed at attacking the city of Bakhmut," the General Staff said in a regular nightly report.
"Our defenders are holding the city and repelling numerous enemy attacks," they added.